Changes in the viscosity, electrical conductivity, monomer concentration, and the size of growing molecules of polycondensed furfurylalcohol are studied in solutions containing triethylene glycol and isooctylphenyldecaethylene glycol. The effect the solution compositions have on the condensation kinetics is considered.

... The Commission instituted this review on September 1, 2011 (76 FR 54493) and determined on December 5, 2011 that it would conduct an expedited review (76 FR 78945, December 20, 2011). The Commission... COMMISSION FurfurylAlcohol From China Determination On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed in the...

The polymerization of furfurylalcohol contributes to the formation of the brown colour in heated foods, in addition to the Maillard and caramelization reactions. During the heating of food, furfurylalcohol is formed via the degradation of quinic acid or 1,2-enediols. Furfurylalcohol is a mutagenic compound. In acidic conditions it is able to polymerize and form aliphatic polymers that show a brown colour. Herein we show that furfurylalcohol polymerizes in a model system by incubating it in 1 M HCl at room temperature. Some of the reaction products are dimers, trimers, tetramers, and pentamers with methylene linkages. The degree of polymerization and the amount of those furfurylalcohol oligomers increased with increasing reaction time. The results of this model system were used to characterize the polymerization of furfurylalcohol which is produced during roasting of coffee. The coffee was roasted at 210 °C for 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 min with a home coffee roaster. Furfurylalcohol and its dimer were found in roasted coffee after 2 and 3 min of roasting respectively, reaching a maximum amount after 4 min. Perhaps due to further reactions, the dimeric furfurylalcohol concentration starts to decrease after 4 min. We propose that the polymers of furfurylalcohol contribute to the brown colour of roasted foods. PMID:22785445

The liquid-phase polymerization of furfurylalcohol catalyzed by sulfuric acid catalysts and the identities of molecular intermediates were investigated by using Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation. At room temperature, with an acid catalyst, a vigorous furfurylalcohol polymerization reaction was observed, whereas even at a high water concentration, furfurylalcohol was very stable in the absence of an acid catalyst. Theoretical studies were carried out to investigate the thermodynamics of protonation of furfurylalcohol, initiation of polymerization, and formation of conjugated dienes and diketonic species by using the B3LYP level of theory. A strong aliphatic C=C band observed in the calculated and measured Raman spectra provided crucial evidence to understand the polymerization reaction mechanism. It is confirmed that the formation of a conjugated diene structure rather than a diketone structure is involved in the furfurylalcohol polymerization reaction.

A novel quick setting polymer concrete composite comprising a furfurylalcohol monomer, an aggregate containing a maximum of 8% by weight water, and about 1-10% trichlorotoluene initiator and about 20-80% powdered metal salt promoter, such as zinc chloride, based on the weight of said monomer, to initiate and promote polymerization of said monomer in the presence of said aggregate, within 1 hour after mixing at a temperature of -20.degree. C. to 40.degree. C., to produce a polymer concrete having a 1 hour compressive strength greater than 2000 psi.

Furfurylalcohol is considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be a high volume production chemical, with over 1 million pounds produced annually. Due to its high production volume and its numerous industrial and consumer uses, there is considerable potential for work-related exposure, as well as exposure to the general population, through pulmonary, oral, and dermal routes of exposure. Human exposure data report a high incidence of asthma in foundry mold workers exposed to furan resins, suggesting potential immunologic effects. Although furfurylalcohol was nominated and evaluated for its carcinogenic potential by the National Toxicology Program, studies evaluating its immunotoxicity are lacking. The studies presented here evaluated the immunotoxic potential of furfurylalcohol following exposure by the dermal and pulmonary routes using a murine model. When tested in a combined irritancy local lymph node assay, furfurylalcohol was identified to be an irritant and mild sensitizer (EC3 = 25.6%). Pulmonary exposure to 2% furfurylalcohol resulted in enhanced airway hyperreactivity, eosinophilic infiltration into the lungs, and enhanced cytokine production (IL-4, IL-5, and interferon-γ) by ex vivo stimulated lung-associated draining lymphoid cells. Airway hyperreactivity and eosinophilic lung infiltration were augmented by prior dermal exposure to furfurylalcohol. These results suggest that furfurylalcohol may play a role in the development of allergic airway disease and encourage the need for additional investigation. PMID:22003193

... furfurylalcohol from China (60 FR 32302). Following first five-year reviews by Commerce and the Commission... alcohol from China (66 FR 22519). Following second five-year reviews by Commerce and the Commission... furfurylalcohol from China (71 FR 59072). The Commission is now conducting a third review to...

An efficient process was designed for the synthesis of furfurylalcohol and 2-methylfuran from xylose using a continuous fixed-bed reactor over a catalyst combining Hβ zeolite and Cu/ZnO/Al2 O3 in γ-butyrolactone (GBL)/water as solvent. The cooperative effect of Hβ zeolite and GBL facilitated the dehydration of xylose and enhanced largely the furfural yield. The production of furfurylalcohol and 2-methylfuran can be simply tuned by changing the hydrogenation temperature for furfural over the Cu/ZnO/Al2 O3 catalyst. The yield for furfurylalcohol reached 87.2 % at 150 °C whereas a yield of 86.8 % was achieved for 2-methylfuran at 190 °C. PMID:27120138

... interested party group response to its notice of institution (76 FR 54493, September 1, 2011) of the subject..., 76 FR 62092 (Oct. 6, 2011), available on the Commission's Web site at http://edis.usitc.gov . \\2\\ The... COMMISSION FurfurylAlcohol From China; Scheduling of an Expedited Five-Year Review AGENCY: United...

This study investigated the successful enzymatic production of furfuryl oleate and its detailed kinetic study by Michaelis-Menten model. Esterification of oleic acid and furfurylalcohol by Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435 preparation) in a solvent free system was studied in the present work at 1:1 molar ratio of furfurylalcohol and oleic acid. About 99 % conversion (on the basis of oleic acid) has been achieved within 6 h at 5 % enzyme concentration. Ping-pong bi-bi mechanism (inhibition phenomenon taken into account) was applied to describe the ratios as a complex kinetic model. The kinetic parameters were determined using MATLAB language programme. The two initial rate constants KA and KB respectively were found out by different progress curves plotted with the help of MATLAB language programme. It was concluded from the results that furfurylalcohol considerably inhibited the enzymatic reaction while oleic acid had negligible inhibitory effect. It was clearly seen that the initial rate was increased with the increase in the furfurylalcohol concentration until 2 M/L after which there was a drop in the initial rate depicting the inhibitory effect of furfurylalcohol. Surprisingly, it has been observed that addition of 0.1 mol of product activated the esterification reaction. Finally, the model was found to be statistically fitting well with the experimental data.

Sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in human lymphocytes were studied using the FPG technique in order to determine the cytogenetic effect of furfural and furfurylalcohol. The induction of SCEs was also investigated in workers occupationally exposed to these solvents that are commonly used in the manufacture of furoic resins. The results obtained from the in vitro treatments show that furfural increased the number of SCEs, while furfurylalcohol did not. In exposed workers, neither of these solvents increased the spontaneous frequency of SCEs per metaphase. PMID:4000179

The hydrogenation of furfural to furfurylalcohol was performed in the presence of a Co/SBA-15 catalyst. High selectivity (96 %) at a conversion higher than 95 % is reported over this catalytic system. As the conversion of furfural to furfurylalcohol occurs over metallic Co sites, the effect of reduction temperature, H2 pressure, and reaction temperature were studied. Optimum reaction conditions were: 150 °C, 1.5 h, 2.0 MPa of H2 . The catalyst was recyclable, and furfurylalcohol was recovered with a purity higher than 90 %. The effect of the solvent concentration was also studied. With a minimum of 50 wt % of solvent, the selectivity to furfurylalcohol and the conversion of furfural remained high (both over 80 %). Likewise, the activity of the catalyst is maintained even in pure furfural, which confirms the real potential of the proposed catalytic system. This catalyst was also used in the hydrogenation of levulinic acid to produce γ-valerolactone selectively. PMID:25891431

A clean, facile, and environment-friendly catalytic method has been developed for the conversion of furfurylalcohol into alkyl levulinates making use of the novel solid catalyst methylimidazolebutylsulfate phosphotungstate ([MIMBS]₃PW₁₂O₄₀). The solid catalyst is an organic-inorganic hybrid material, which consists of an organic cation and an inorganic anion. A study for optimizing the reaction conditions such as the reaction time, the temperature and the catalyst loading has been performed. Under optimal conditions, a high n-butyl levulinate yield of up to 93 % is obtained. Furthermore, the kinetics of the reaction pathways and the mechanism for the alcoholysis of furfurylalcohol are discussed. This method is environmentally benign and economical for the conversion of biomass-based derivatives into fine chemicals. PMID:21226220

Flame and temperature resistant polyimide foams are prepared by the reaction of an aromatic dianhydride, e.g., pyromellitic dianhydride, with an aromatic polyisocyanate, e.g., polymethylene polyphenylisocyanate (PAPI) in the presence of an inorganic acid and a lower molecular weight alcohol, e.g., dilute sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid and furfurylalcohol. The exothermic reaction between the acid and the alcohol provides the heat necessary for the other reactants to polymerize without the application of any external heat. Such mixtures, therefore, are ideally suited for in situ foam formation, especially where the application of heat is not practical or possible.

Reaction pathways for the acid-catalyzed conversion of furfurylalcohol (FAL) to ethyl levulinate (EL) in ethanol were investigated using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and ab initio high-level quantum chemical (G4MP2) calculations. Our combined studies show that the production of EL at high yields from FAL is not accompanied by stoichiometric production of diethyl either (DEE), indicating that ethoxymethyl furan (EMF) is not an intermediate in the major reaction pathway. Several intermediates were observed using an LC-MS system, and three of these intermediates were isolated and subjected to reaction conditions. The structures of two intermediates were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR techniques. One of these intermediates is EMF, which forms EL and DEE in a secondary reaction pathway. The second intermediate identified is 4,5,5-triethoxypentan-2-one, which is analogous to one of the intermediates observed in the conversion of FAL to LA in water (i.e. 4,5,5-trihydroxypentan-2-one). Furthermore, conversion of this intermediate to EL again involves the formation of DEE, indicating that it is also part of a secondary pathway. The primary pathway for production of EL involves solvent-assisted transfer of a water molecule from the partially detached protonated hydroxyl group of FAL to a ring carbon, followed by intra-molecular hydrogen shift, where the apparent reaction barrier for the hydrogen shift is relatively smaller in ethanol (21.1 kcal/mol) than that in water (26.6 kcal/mol). PMID:25035710

The explosive puffing process may provide characteristic physicochemical properties in red ginseng. The effects of explosive puffing on the changes of volatiles in red ginseng were investigated using headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME)-gas chromatograph (GC) with a mass selective detector (MS). Formation of porous structures and smaller pieces were clearly observed on the surface of puffed red ginseng by scanning electron microscopy. Total volatiles in puffed red ginseng increased by 87% compared to those in red ginseng. Hexanal, Delta-selinene, and beta-panasinsene were major volatiles in red ginseng, whereas aristolene, beta-panasinsene, and calarene were main volatiles in puffed red ginseng. Puffing process decreased volatiles from lipid oxidation including aldehydes, ketones, and 2-pentylfuran and increased terpenoids in red ginseng. Selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode for GC/MS results showed that 2-furanmethanol and maltol were present at the concentrations of 0.20% and 0.24%, respectively, in red ginseng and 5.86% and 3.99%, respectively, in puffed red ginseng. The explosive puffing process increased 2-furanmethanol and maltol in puffed red ginseng significantly (P < 0.05) with the changes of microstructures. PMID:20492218

The furfurylation process is an extensively investigated wood modification process. Furfurylalcohol molecules penetrate into the wood cell wall and polymerize in situ. This results in a permanent swelling of the wood cell walls. It is unclear whether or not chemical bonds exist between the furfurylalcohol polymer and the wood. In the present study, five different wood species were used, both hardwoods and softwoods. They were treated with three different furfurylation procedures and leached according to three different leaching methods. The present study shows that, in general, the leachates from furfurylated wood have low toxicity. It also shows that the choice of leaching method is decisive for the outcome of the toxicity results. Earlier studies have shown that leachates from wood treated with furfurylalcohol prepolymers have higher toxicity to Vibrio fischeri than leachates from wood treated with furfurylalcohol monomers. This is probably attributable to differences in leaching of chemical compounds. The present study shows that this difference in the toxicity most likely cannot be attributed to maleic acid, furan, furfural, furfurylalcohol, or 2-furoic acid. However, the difference might be caused by the two substances 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and 2,5-furandimethanol. The present study found no difference in the amount of leached furfurylalcohol between leachates from furfurylated softwood and furfurylated hardwood species. Earlier studies have indicated differences in grafting of furfurylalcohol to lignin. However, nothing was found in the present study that could support this. The leachates of furfurylated wood still need to be PMID:20821648

IRMOF-3 crystals have been synthesized using solvothermal method by adding zinc nitrate hexahydrate with 2-amino-1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid in N'N-dimethylformamide (DMF) at 100°C for 24 (note as IR-24) and 72 h (note as IR-72). The obtained crystals were characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), FTIR and Isothermal adsorption-desorption N2. The diffractogram solids synthesized show characteristic peak at 2θ 6.8, 9.6 and 13.7°. SEM micrograph show cubic shape of IRMOF-3 crystal. Based on FTIR characterization, IRMOF-3 appear at wavelength (1691,46; 1425,3; 1238,21; 1319,22 dan 3504,42)cm-1. The Isotherm of crystal IRMOF-3 at heating time 24 h and 72 h are type IV. The surface area of IR-24 and IR-72 are respectively 24,758 m2/g and 29,139 m2/g with its dominant mesopores. Carbonaceous materials has been successfully synthesized using IR-24, IR-72 and furfurylalcohol (FA) as second carbon precursor with variation of carbonation temperature 550, 700 and 850°C. The XRD result from both carbonaceous materials show formation of amorphous carbon and caharacteristic peak of ZnO oxide. Micrograph SEM show that carbonaceous materials have cubic shape as IRMOF-3 and SEM-EDX result indicate Zn and nitrogen content of these materials has decrease until temperature 850°C. Porous carbon using IR-24 and FA (notes as C-24) has increased surface area with higher carbonation temperature. The highest surface area is 1495,023 m2/g. Total pore volume and pore size of C-24 from low to high temperature respectively as (0,338; 0,539 and 1,598) cc/g; (0,107; 0,152 and 0,610) cc/g. Porous carbon using IR-72 and FA (notes as C-72) has smaller surface area than C-24 but its also increased during higher carbonation heating. The highest surface area is 1029,668 m2/g.The total pore volume and pore size of these carbon materials from low to high temperature respectively as (0,390; 0

In this study, the chemical treatment of the coir fibres was executed through oxidation with aqueous ClO2 followed by grafting with furfurylalcohol (FA), leading to create a coating around the fibres more compatible with the polymeric matrices. The ClO2 was used to oxidize mainly phenolic syringyl and guaiacyl units of the lignin polymer to create quinones, which were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In addition, the surface features of modified fibres were studied using scanning electron microscopy. The extent of FA-grafting was found higher (weight gain 17.7%) for oxidized fibre compared to those for non-oxidized fibre (weight gain 2.2%). The surface modification with FA-grafting reduced the hydrophilicity of the coir fibre, as confirm by the dynamic contact angle and water absorption measurements. The thermal and mechanical properties of untreated, oxidized and FA-grafted coir fibres were evaluated and compared.

The ethanologenic bacteria Escherichia coli strains KO11 and LYO1, and Klebsiella oxytoca strain P2, were investigated for their ability to metabolize furfural. Using high performance liquid chromatography and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, furfural was found to be completely biotransformed into furfurylalcohol by each of the three strains with tryptone and yeast extract as sole carbon sources. This reduction appears to be constitutive with NAD(P)H acting as electron donor. Glucose was shown to be an effective source of reducing power. Succinate inhibited furfural reduction, indicating that flavins are unlikely participants in this process. Furfural at concentrations >10 mM decreased the rate of ethanol formation but did not affect the final yield. Insight into the biochemical nature of this furfural reduction process may help efforts to mitigate furfural toxicity during ethanol production by ethanologenic bacteria. PMID:12018260

Iron-based heterogeneous catalysts, which were generally prepared by pyrolysis of iron complexes on supports at elevated temperature, were found to be capable of catalyzing the transfer hydrogenation of furfural (FF) to furfurylalcohol (FFA). The effects of metal precursor, nitrogen precursor, pyrolysis temperature, and support on catalytic performance were examined thoroughly, and a comprehensive study of the reaction parameters was also performed. The highest selectivity of FFA reached 83.0 % with a FF conversion of 91.6 % under the optimal reaction condition. Catalyst characterization suggested that iron cations coordinated by pyridinic nitrogen functionalities were responsible for the enhanced catalytic activity. The iron catalyst could be recycled without significant loss of catalytic activity for five runs, and the destruction of the nitrogen-iron species, the presence of crystallized Fe2 O3 phase, and the pore structure change were the main reasons for catalyst deactivation. PMID:27144965

Furfurylalcohol is a rodent carcinogen present in numerous foodstuffs. Sulfotransferases (SULTs) convert furfurylalcohol into the DNA reactive and mutagenic 2-sulfoxymethylfuran. Sensitive techniques for the isotope-dilution ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry quantification of resulting DNA adducts, e.g. N (2)-((furan-2-yl)methyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine (N (2)-MF-dG), were developed. To better understand the contribution of specific SULT forms to the genotoxicity of furfurylalcohol in vivo, we studied the tissue distribution of N (2)-MF-dG in different mouse models. Earlier mutagenicity studies with Salmonella typhimurium strains expressing different human and murine SULT forms indicated that human SULT1A1 and murine Sult1a1 and 1d1 catalyze furfurylalcohol sulfo conjugation most effectively. Here, we used three mouse lines to study the bioactivation of furfurylalcohol by murine SULTs, FVB/N wild-type (wt) mice and two genetically modified models lacking either murine Sult1a1 or Sult1d1. The animals received a single dose of furfurylalcohol, and the levels of the DNA adducts were determined in liver, kidney, lung, colon and small intestine. The effect of Sult1d1 gene disruption on the genotoxicity of furfurylalcohol was moderate and limited to kidney and small intestine. In contrast, the absence of functional Sult1a1 had a massive influence on the adduct levels, which were lowered by 33-73% in all tissues of the female Sult1a1 null mice compared with the wt animals. The detection of high N (2)-MF-dG levels in a humanized mouse line expressing hSULT1A1/1A2 instead of endogeneous Sult1a1 and Sult1d1 supports the hypothesis that furfurylalcohol is converted to the mutagenic 2-sulfoxymethylfuran also in humans. PMID:25053625

The conversion of furfurylalcohol (FAL) to levulinic acid over Amberlyst TM 15 in aqueous media was investigated using a combination of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) measurements, isotopic labeling studies, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and ab initio quantum chemical calculations using the G4MP2 method. The results of these combined studies showed that one of the major reaction pathways takes place via a geminal diol species (4,5,5- trihydroxypentan-2-one, denoted as intermediate A), formed by the addition of two water molecules to FAL, where two of the oxygen atoms from FAL are retained. This geminal diol species can also be produced from another intermediate found to be a dimer-like species, denoted as intermediate B. This dimer-like species is formed at the early stages of reaction, and it can also be converted to intermediate A, indicating that intermediate B is the product of the reaction of FAL with another early intermediate. Quantum chemical calculations suggested this to be a protonated acyclic species. Reaction of this early intermediate with water produces intermediate A, while reaction with FAL produces intermediate B.

Pt-Cu nanoparticles constructed with a hollow core and porous shell have been synthesized in which Pt-Cu cages with multiporous outermost shells are formed at the initial stage and then the Pt and Cu atoms in solution continuously fed these hollow-core of cages by passing through the porous tunnels of the outermost shells, finally leading to the formation of hollow structures with different sizes. Furthermore, these hollow-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles are more effective than the solid-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural toward furfurylalcohol. The former can achieve almost 100% conversion of furfural with 100% selectivity toward the alcohol.Pt-Cu nanoparticles constructed with a hollow core and porous shell have been synthesized in which Pt-Cu cages with multiporous outermost shells are formed at the initial stage and then the Pt and Cu atoms in solution continuously fed these hollow-core of cages by passing through the porous tunnels of the outermost shells, finally leading to the formation of hollow structures with different sizes. Furthermore, these hollow-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles are more effective than the solid-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural toward furfurylalcohol. The former can achieve almost 100% conversion of furfural with 100% selectivity toward the alcohol. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr03894h

Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets were investigated for developing effective Pt catalyst supports for selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfurylalcohol in water. The nanosheets with an average thickness of about 3 nm were synthesized by a simple and green method through thermal oxidation etching of bulk g-C3N4 in air. Combined with the unique feature of nitrogen richness and locally conjugated structure, the g-C3N4 nanosheets with a high surface area of 142 m2 g‑1 were demonstrated to be an excellent supports for loading small-size Pt nanoparticles. Superior furfural hydrogenation activity in water with complete conversion of furfural and high selectivity of furfurylalcohol (>99%) was observed for g-C3N4 nanosheets supported Pt catalysts. The large specific surface area, uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and the stronger furfural adsorption ability of nanosheets contributed to the considerable catalytic performance. The reusability tests showed that the novel Pt catalyst could maintain high activity and stability in the furfural hydrogenation reaction.

Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets were investigated for developing effective Pt catalyst supports for selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfurylalcohol in water. The nanosheets with an average thickness of about 3 nm were synthesized by a simple and green method through thermal oxidation etching of bulk g-C3N4 in air. Combined with the unique feature of nitrogen richness and locally conjugated structure, the g-C3N4 nanosheets with a high surface area of 142 m(2) g(-1) were demonstrated to be an excellent supports for loading small-size Pt nanoparticles. Superior furfural hydrogenation activity in water with complete conversion of furfural and high selectivity of furfurylalcohol (>99%) was observed for g-C3N4 nanosheets supported Pt catalysts. The large specific surface area, uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and the stronger furfural adsorption ability of nanosheets contributed to the considerable catalytic performance. The reusability tests showed that the novel Pt catalyst could maintain high activity and stability in the furfural hydrogenation reaction. PMID:27328834

Graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets were investigated for developing effective Pt catalyst supports for selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfurylalcohol in water. The nanosheets with an average thickness of about 3 nm were synthesized by a simple and green method through thermal oxidation etching of bulk g-C3N4 in air. Combined with the unique feature of nitrogen richness and locally conjugated structure, the g-C3N4 nanosheets with a high surface area of 142 m2 g−1 were demonstrated to be an excellent supports for loading small-size Pt nanoparticles. Superior furfural hydrogenation activity in water with complete conversion of furfural and high selectivity of furfurylalcohol (>99%) was observed for g-C3N4 nanosheets supported Pt catalysts. The large specific surface area, uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and the stronger furfural adsorption ability of nanosheets contributed to the considerable catalytic performance. The reusability tests showed that the novel Pt catalyst could maintain high activity and stability in the furfural hydrogenation reaction. PMID:27328834

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfurylalcohol (FFA) are moderately potent rodent carcinogens that are present in thermally processed foodstuffs. The carcinogenic effects were hypothesized to originate from sulfotransferase (SULT)-mediated bioactivation yielding DNA-reactive and mutagenic sulfate esters, a confirmed metabolic pathway of HMF and FFA in mice. It is known that orthologous SULT forms substantially differ in substrate specificity and tissue distribution. This could influence HMF- and FFA-induced carcinogenic effects. Here, we studied HMF and FFA sulfoconjugation by 30 individual SULT forms of humans, mice and rats. The catalytic efficiencies (k cat/K M) of HMF sulfoconjugation of human SULT1A1 (13.7 s(-1) M(-1)), mouse Sult1a1 (15.8 s(-1) M(-1)) and 1d1 (4.8 s(-1) M(-1)) and rat Sult1a1 (5.3 s(-1) M(-1)) were considerably higher than those of all other SULT forms investigated (≤0.73 s(-1 )M(-1)). FFA sulfoconjugation was monitored using adenosine as a nucleophilic scavenger for the reactive 2-sulfoxymethylfuran (t 1/2 = 20 s at 37 °C). The resulting adduct N (6)-((furan-2-yl)methyl)-adenosine (N (6)-MF-A) was quantified by isotope-dilution UPLC-MS/MS. The rates of N (6)-MF-A formation showed that hSULT1A1 and its orthologues in mice and rats were also the most important contributors to FFA sulfoconjugation in each of the species. Taken together, the catalytic capacity of hSULT1A1 is comparable to that of mSult1a1 in mice, the species in which carcinogenic effects of HMF and FFA were detected. This is of primary concern due to the expression of hSULT1A1 in many different tissues. PMID:25370010

Pt-Cu nanoparticles constructed with a hollow core and porous shell have been synthesized in which Pt-Cu cages with multiporous outermost shells are formed at the initial stage and then the Pt and Cu atoms in solution continuously fed these hollow-core of cages by passing through the porous tunnels of the outermost shells, finally leading to the formation of hollow structures with different sizes. Furthermore, these hollow-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles are more effective than the solid-core Pt-Cu nanoparticles for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural toward furfurylalcohol. The former can achieve almost 100% conversion of furfural with 100% selectivity toward the alcohol. PMID:27403580

Composites based on phenolic matrices and unmodified and chemically modified sugar cane bagasse and curaua fibers were prepared. The fibers were oxidized by chlorine dioxide, mainly phenolic syringyl and guaiacyl units of the lignin polymer, followed by grafting furfurylalcohol (FA), which is a chemical obtained from a renewable source. The fibers were widely characterized by chemical composition analysis, crystallinity, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, SEM, DSC, TG, tensile strength, and 13C CP-MAS NMR. The composites were analyzed by SEM, impact strength, and DMA. The SEM images and DMA results showed that the oxidation of sugar cane bagasse fibers followed by reaction with FA favored the fiber/matrix interaction at the interface. The same chemical modification was less effective for curaua fibers, probably due to its lower lignin content, since the reaction considered touches mainly the lignin moiety. The tensile strength results obtained showed that the fibers were partially degraded by the chemical treatment, decreasing then the impact strength of the composites reinforced with them. In the continuity of the present project, efforts has been addressed to the optimization of fiber surface modification, looking for reagents preferably obtained from renewable resources and for chemical modifications that intensify the fiber/matrix interaction without loss of mechanical properties. PMID:16153084

In beer, the development of a solvent-like stale flavor is associated with the formation of furfuryl ethyl ether. The synthesis rate of this important flavor compound is proportional to the concentration of furfurylalcohol in beer. This study shows that furfurylalcohol in beer is mainly formed by Maillard reactions initiated during wort boiling and malt production. A mechanism for its formation from alpha-(1,4)-oligoglucans and amino acids in wort and beer is proposed. During wort boiling, a quadratic relationship was found between the wort extract concentration, on the one hand, and the increase of furfurylalcohol and furfural, on the other. The reduction of furfural by yeast during fermentation further increases the furfurylalcohol content. In pale beers, the furfurylalcohol concentration is essentially determined by the thermal load on wort during brewing operations. In dark beers, a considerable fraction of furfurylalcohol may, however, come from the dark malts used. These results lead to important practical conclusions concerning the control over furfuryl ethyl ether in beer. PMID:15506813

To explore the interaction of nucleosides and nucleobases in the context of the Maillard reaction and to identify the selectivity of purine nitrogen atoms towards various electrophiles, model systems composed of adenine or adenosine, glycine, ribose and/or 2-furanmethanol (with and without copper) were studied in aqueous solutions heated at 110°C for 2h and subsequently analyzed by ESI/qTOF/MS/MS in addition to isotope labelling techniques. The results indicated that ribose selectively formed mono-ribosylated N(6) adenine, but in the presence of (Ade)2Cu complex the reaction mixture generated mono-, di- and tri-substituted sugar complexes and their hydrolysis products of mono-ribosylated N(6) and N(9) adenine adducts and di-ribosylated N(6,9) adenine. Furthermore, the reaction of 2-furanmethanol with adenine in the presence of ribose generated kinetin and its isomer, while its reaction with adenosine generated kinetin riboside, as confirmed by comparing the MS/MS profiles of these adducts to those of commercial standards. PMID:27542499

2,5-Dimethylfuran (DMF) and furfurylalcohol (FFA) are two substituted furans that are formed during the processing of foods and have also been used as food flavorings. DMF and FFA are proposed to be bioactivated by human sulfotransferases (SULTs) which are not expressed in conventional cell lines used for genotoxicity testing. Therefore, in addition to the standard V79 cell line, we used a transfected V79 derived cell line co-expressing human cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2E1 and human SULT1A1 to assess the genotoxicity of DMF and FFA. The alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay was used to detect DNA damage in the form of single strand breaks and alkali-labile sites after exposure to DMF (0.5h; 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2mM) or FFA (3h; 1, 3, 6 or 15mM). DMF induced DNA damage in V79 cells in a concentration-dependent manner irrespective of the expression of human CYP2E1 and SULT1A1. Almost no increase in the level of DNA damage was detected after exposure to FFA, except for a weak effect at the highest concentration in the transfected cell line. The results suggest that DNA damage in V79 cells from exposure to DMF detected by the alkaline SCGE assay is independent of human CYP2E1 and SULT1A1, and the genotoxic effect of FFA, as assessed by SCGE, is minimal in V79 cells. PMID:27226491

2,5-Dimethylfuran (DMF) and furfurylalcohol (FFA) are two substituted furans that are formed during the processing of foods and have also been used as food flavorings. DMF and FFA are proposed to be bioactivated by human sulfotransferases (SULTs) which are not expressed in conventional cell lines used for genotoxicity testing. Therefore, in addition to the standard V79 cell line, we used a transfected V79 derived cell line co-expressing human cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2E1 and human SULT1A1 to assess the genotoxicity of DMF and FFA. The alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay was used to detect DNA damage in the form of single strand breaks and alkali-labile sites after exposure to DMF (0.5h; 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2mM) or FFA (3h; 1, 3, 6 or 15mM). DMF induced DNA damage in V79 cells in a concentration-dependent manner irrespective of the expression of human CYP2E1 and SULT1A1. Almost no increase in the level of DNA damage was detected after exposure to FFA, except for a weak effect at the highest concentration in the transfected cell line. The results suggest that DNA damage in V79 cells from exposure to DMF detected by the alkaline SCGE assay is independent of human CYP2E1 and SULT1A1, and the genotoxic effect of FFA, as assessed by SCGE, is minimal in V79 cells. PMID:27226491

Furfurylalcohol (FFA) is present in many heat-treated foods as a result of its formation via dehydration of pentoses. It is also used legally as a flavouring agent. In an inhalation study conducted in the National Toxicology Program, FFA showed some evidence of carcinogenic activity in rats and mice. FFA was generally negative in conventional genotoxicity assays, which suggests that it may be a non-genotoxic carcinogen. However, it was recently found that FFA is mutagenic in Salmonella strains expressing appropriate sulfotransferases (SULTs), such as human or mouse SULT1A1. The same DNA adducts that were formed by FFA in these strains, mainly N 2-((furan-2-yl)methyl)-2′-deoxyguanosine (N 2-MF-dG), were also detected in tissues of FFA-exposed mice and even in human lung specimens. In the present study, a single oral dose of FFA (250mg/kg body weight) or saline was administered to FVB/N mice and transgenic mice expressing human SULT1A1/1A2 on the FVB/N background. The transgenic mice were used, since human and mouse SULT1A1 substantially differ in substrate specificity and tissue distribution. DNA adducts were studied in liver, kidney, proximal and distal small intestine as well as colon, using isotope-dilution ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC–MS/MS). Surprisingly, low levels of adducts that may represent N 2-MF-dG were detected even in tissues of untreated mice. FFA exposure enhanced the adduct levels in colon and liver, but not in the remaining investigated tissues of wild-type (wt) mice. The situation was similar in transgenic mice, except that N 2-MF-dG levels were also strongly enhanced in the proximal small intestine. These different results between wt and transgenic mice may be attributed to the fact that human SULT1A1, but not the orthologous mouse enzyme, is strongly expressed in the small intestine. PMID:25904584

Furfurylalcohol (FFA) is a carcinogenic food contaminant, which is formed by acid- and heat-catalyzed degradation of fructose and glucose. The activation by sulfotransferases (SULTs) yields a DNA reactive and mutagenic sulfate ester. The most prominent DNA adduct, N(2)-((furan-2-yl)methyl)-2'-deoxyguanosine (N(2)-MF-dG), was detected in FFA-treated mice and also in human tissue samples. The dominant pathway of FFA detoxification is the oxidation via alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) and aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs). The activity of these enzymes may be greatly altered in the presence of inhibitors or competitive substrates. Here, we investigated the impact of ethanol and the ADH inhibitor 4-methylpyrazole (4MP) on the DNA adduct formation by FFA in wild-type and in humanized mice that were transgenic for human SULT1A1/1A2 and deficient in the mouse (m) Sult1a1 and Sult1d1 genes (h1A1/1A2/1a1(-)/1d1(-)). The administration of FFA alone led to hepatic adduct levels of 4.5 N(2)-MF-dG/10(8) nucleosides and 33.6 N(2)-MF-dG/10(8) nucleosides in male and female wild-type mice, respectively, and of 19.6 N(2)-MF-dG/10(8) nucleosides and 95.4 N(2)-MF-dG/10(8) nucleosides in male and female h1A1/1A2/1a1(-)/1d1(-) mice. The coadministration of 1.6g ethanol/kg body weight increased N(2)-MF-dG levels by 2.3-fold in male and by 1.7-fold in female wild-type mice and by 2.5-fold in male and by 1.5-fold in female h1A1/1A2/1a1(-)/1d1(-) mice. The coadministration of 100mg 4MP/kg body weight had a similar effect on the adduct levels. These findings indicate that modulators of the oxidative metabolism, e.g. the drug 4MP or consumption of alcoholic beverages, may increase the genotoxic effects of FFA also in humans. PMID:26775039

We have doped polyfurfuryl alcohol derived activated carbon (PFAC) with two alkali metals, potassium (K) and lithium (Li) by prior reacting the metals with naphthalene in presence of tetrahydrofuran (THF) followed by introducing them to pristine PFAC. THF molecule causes minor alteration in the microstructure of PFAC as confirmed by the Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction and pore textural analysis. Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction indicated a slight localized ordering towards the stacking defects of disordered carbon, like PFAC which can be attributed to the movement of THF molecules within the internal planes of graphene sheets. Pore textural analysis confirmed the lowering specific surface area and pore volume of both K and Li doped PFACs.(BET SSA: 1378 m2/g (PFAC); 1252 m2/g (K-PFAC); 1081 m2/g (Li-PFAC)) Volumetric hydrogen adsorption measurement at the temperatures of 298, 288, 273 and 77 K and pressure up to 1 bar indicated the enhanced adsorption potential imposed by the presence of alkali metals, which can be reconfirmed by the additional heats of adsorption of metal doped PFACs (Li-PFAC: -(10 - 11) kJ/mol; K-PFAC: -(16 -19) kJ/mol) compared to pristine PFAC (-9.6 kJ/mol).

The present work deals with the kinetic modeling and docking study for the furfuryl acetate synthesis using immobilized Burkholderia cepacia (BCL) lipase. Initially various lipases were immobilized on hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) base hybrid polymer matrix. After screening of various immobilized biocatalysts, HPMC:PVA:BCL was found to be a robust biocatalyst. Various reaction conditions were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) based on a four-factor-three-level Box-Behnken design. The optimal conditions were obtained at molar ratio of 1:2 of furfurylalcohol to acyl donor, temperature 50°C with catalyst loading of 30mg in 3mL of non-aqueous media toluene. Under these conditions 99.98% yield was obtained in 3h. The Arrhenius plot showed that the activation energy for furfuryl acetate synthesis was 10.68kcal/mol. The kinetics of reaction was studied close to optimized conditions which obey order bi-bi model. Molecular docking study was carried out to understand the active site of BCL which is responsible for the reaction. It was observed that the reaction proceeds via acylation of the active serine of BCL and demonstrating strong hydrogen bond between the substrate and histidine site. The catalyst recyclability study was carried up to five cycles. PMID:26827768

The liquid-phase polymerization of furfurylalcohol catalyzed by sulfuric acid catalysts and the identities of molecular intermediates were investigated by using Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation. At room temperature, with an acid catalyst, a vigorous furfurylalcohol polymerization reaction was observed, whereas even at a high water concentration, furfurylalcohol was very stable in the absence of an acid catalyst. Theoretical studies were carried out to investigate the thermodynamics of protonation of furfurylalcohol, initiation of polymerization, and formation of conjugated dienes and diketonic species by using the B3LYP level of theory. A strong aliphatic C=C band observed in the calculated and measured Raman spectra provided crucial evidence to understand the polymerization reaction mechanism. It is confirmed that the formation of a conjugated diene structure rather than a diketone structure is involved in the furfurylalcohol polymerization reaction.

Furfuryl methacrylate (FMA) is a promising precursor for producing polymers for biomedical and cell therapy applications. Herein, FMA plasma polymer coatings were prepared with different powers, deposition times, and flow rates. The plasma polymer coatings were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The results from AFM and SEM show the early growth of the coatings and the existence of particle aggregates on the surfaces. XPS results indicated no measureable chemical differences between the deposited films produced under different power and flow rate conditions. ToF-SIMS analysis demonstrated differing amounts of C5H5O (81 m/z) and C10H9O2 (161 m/z) species in the coatings which are related to the furan ring structure. Through judicious choice of plasma polymerization parameters, the quantity of the particle aggregates was reduced, and the fabricated plasma polymer coatings were chemically uniform and smooth. Primary human fibroblasts were cultured on FMA plasma polymer surfaces to determine the effect of surface chemical composition and the presence of particle aggregates on cell culture. Particle aggregates were shown to inhibit fibroblast attachment and proliferation. PMID:27609095

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This extensive annotated bibliography provides a compilation of documents retreived from a computerized search of the ERIC, Social Science Citation Index, and Med-Line databases on the topic of alcoholism. The materials address the following areas of concern: (1) attitudes toward alcohol users and abusers; (2) characteristics of alcoholics and…

Furfuryl-pyrroles possess a diverse range of organoleptic properties described as roasted, chocolaty, green, horseradish-like, and mushroom-like and are detected in various foods such as coffee, chocolate, popcorn, and roasted chicken. Although their origin in food was attributed to furfuryl-amine, the latter has not been detected so far in Maillard model systems or in foods. In this study, furfuryl-amine was shown to be formed specifically from ribose through nitrogen atom transfer from the α-amino group of any amino acid. Such a transfer can be achieved through decarboxylation of the Schiff base adduct and isomerization followed by hydrolysis. Through the use of (15)Nα-lysine it was revealed that only the (15)Nα nitrogen atom was incorporated into its structure, indicating a specific role for the carboxylate moiety in the mechanism of its formation. Furthermore, isotope labeling studies have indicated that furfuryl-pyrrole derivatives can be formed by the interaction of 2 mol of furfuryl-amine with 3-deoxyribosone followed by dehydration and cyclization to form 1-(furan-2-yl)-N-{[1-(furan-2-ylmethyl)-1H-pyrrol-2-yl]methylidene}methanamine. After hydrolysis, this intermediate can generate furfuryl-formyl-pyrrole, furfuryl-pyrrole carboxylic acid, and furfuryl-pyrrole. In this study, the furfuryl-amine derivatives were also detected in different coffee beans after pyrolysis and analysis by GC-MS. The potential of these compounds to form in aqueous model systems at a temperature of 120 °C was also demonstrated. PMID:22994507

Describes the manufacturing of ethanol, the effects of ethanol on the body, the composition of alcoholic drinks, and some properties of ethanol. Presents some classroom experiments using ethanol. (JRH)

Well-defined poly((furfuryl glycidyl ether)-co-(glycidyl methyl ether) carbonate) (P((FGE-co-GME)C)) copolymers with varying furfuryl glycidyl ether (FGE) content in the range of 26% to 100% are prepared directly from CO2 and the respective epoxides in a solvent-free synthesis. All materials are characterized by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), (1)H NMR spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The furfuryl-functional samples exhibit monomodal molecular weight distributions with Mw/Mn in the range of 1.16 to 1.43 and molecular weights (Mn) between 2300 and 4300 g mol(-1). Thermal properties reflect the amorphous structure of the polymers. Both post-functionalization and cross-linking are performed via Diels-Alder chemistry using maleimide derivatives, leading to reversible network formation. This transformation is shown to be thermally reversible at 110 °C. PMID:25407342

Environmental concern regarding the use of toxic preservatives such as chromated copper arsenate (CCA) has been put forward. In the European Union, United States, and Japan, CCA has been phased out for residential and water-contact applications. Ecotoxicological studies of wood treated with conventional preservatives were carried out in the late 1990s, and it was concluded that the main impact is to water and aquatic organisms. Today, alternatives to conventional preservation methods, marketed as "environmentally friendly" or "nontoxic," are emerging. Examples of such alternatives are modified wood, e.g., thermally modified, furfurylated, and acetylated wood. To date, not enough hazard characterization has been performed. In the present study, the Microtox assay with the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and the Daphtox procedure with the crustacean Daphnia magna were used as screening methods in an effect assessment. Both organisms were exposed to water leachates from furfurylated wood using two different leaching procedures. The results indicate that Microtox is more sensitive to the toxic components from furfurylated wood than Daphtox. Furthermore, the toxicity of treated Pinus radiata was higher than that of treated Pinus sylvestris. The toxicity did not diminish over the test period, as is the case for preservative-treated wood. The present study found that treatment conditions can influence the toxicity considerably, so toxicity studies should be included in the development of new treatment process. The present study also shows that using an intermediate vacuum-drying step, leading to a more efficient curing/polymerization, results in slightly less hydrophobic oligomers in the product, such that the leachates become less toxic to bacteria. PMID:20821541

The selective deoxygenation of aldehydes and alcohols without cleaving the Csbnd C bond is crucial for upgrading bio-oil and other biomass-derived molecules to useful fuels and chemicals. In this work, propanal, 1-propanol, furfural and furfurylalcohol were selected as probe molecules to study the deoxygenation of aldehydes and alcohols on molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) prepared over a Mo(1 1 0) surface. The reaction pathways were investigated using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). The deoxygenation of propanal and 1-propanol went through a similar intermediate (propoxide or η2(C,O)-propanal) to produce propene. The deoxygenation of furfural and furfurylalcohol produced a surface intermediate similar to adsorbed 2-methylfuran. The comparison of these results revealed the promising deoxygenation performance of Mo2C, as well as the effect of the furan ring on the selective deoxygenation of the Cdbnd O and Csbnd OH bonds.

Ethanol is a renewable biofuel, and it can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass. The biomass is usually converted to hydrolysates that consist of sugar and sugar derivatives, such as furfural. Yeast ferments sugar to ethanol, but furfural higher than 3 mM is inhibitory. It can take several days for yeast cells to reduce furfural to non-inhibitory furfurylalcohol before producing ethanol. Bioreduction of furfural to furfurylalcohol before fermentation may relieve yeast from furfural toxicity. We observed that Cupriavidus necator JMP134, a strict aerobe, rapidly reduced 17 mM furfural to less than 3 mM within 14 min with cell turbidity of 1.0 at 600 nm at 50°C. The rapid reduction consumed ethanol. The "furfural reductase" (FurX) was purified, and it oxidized ethanol to acetaldehyde and reduced furfural to furfurylalcohol with NAD(+) as the cofactor. The protein was identified with mass spectrometry fingerprinting to be a hypothetical protein belonging to Zn-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase family. The furX-inactivation mutant of C. necator JMP134 lost the ability to rapidly reduce furfural, and Escherichia coli producing recombinant FurX gained the ability. Thus, an alcohol dehydrogenase enabled bacteria to rapidly reduce furfural with ethanol as the reducing power. PMID:21526390

N-6-furfuryl adenine (N6FA) also known as "kinetin" is a biologically active natural phytochemical. It belongs to the category of cytokinins, the natural plant growth hormones that promote cell division and play role in cell differentiation. Overall, N6FA aids in increasing the plant's life span. Human cells also contain.small quantities of N6FA. Scientists are trying to understand its function in humans. N6FA is being investigated for its properties such as antiplatelet, antioxidant, antiproliferative and anti-aging effects on human cells. The aim of the present investigation was to prepare solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) based topical formulations of N6FA and to evaluate its efficacy against ultraviolet (UV) radiation induced skin photodamage. SLNs were prepared by hot microemulsion technique and optimized for the type and concentration of lipid and surfactant(s). The optimized SLN formulation was characterized in terms of particle size, drug entrapment efficiency, zeta potential and pH; evaluated for stability, spreadability, ex-vivo skin permeation and photoprotective effects against UV induced skin damage. The cumulative amount of drug permeated through mice skin using SLNs was 3 folds higher than from conventional cream base. The results of biochemical and histopathological investigations of skin treated with N6FA loaded SLNs clearly demonstrated the efficacy of optimized formulation in preventing photodamage (lesions, ulcers and changes in skin integrity) due to chronic UV exposure. The effects were comparable with widely used marketed formulation, Garnier wrinkle lift anti-aging cream. Results suggested that N6FA incorporated into SLNs may provide therapeutic as well as cosmeceutical benefits. PMID:26502637

... This means that their drinking causes distress and harm. It includes alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Alcoholism, or ... brain, and other organs. Drinking during pregnancy can harm your baby. Alcohol also increases the risk of ...

... main content National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Main Menu Search Search form Search Alcohol & ... on a single aspect of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Please click on the desired publication for full ...

Describes research on synergistic effects of alcohol and other drugs, particularly barbiturates. Proposes biochemical mechanisms to explain alcoholics' tolerance of other drugs when sober, and increased sensitivity when drunk. (AL)

... Us You are here Home » Alcohol Alert Alcohol Alert The NIAAA Alcohol Alert is a quarterly bulletin that disseminates important research ... text. To order single copies of select Alcohol Alerts, see ordering Information . To view publications in PDF ...

Ketoacidosis - alcoholic ... Alcoholic ketoacidosis is caused by very heavy alcohol use. It most often occurs in a malnourished person ... Symptoms of alcoholic ketoacidosis include: Nausea and vomiting ... Changed level of alertness, which may lead to coma Confusion ...

Neuropathy - alcoholic; Alcoholic polyneuropathy ... The exact cause of alcoholic neuropathy is unknown. It likely includes both a direct poisoning of the nerve by the alcohol and the effect of poor nutrition ...

... counseling to discuss the long-term issue of alcoholism Testing and treatment for other medical problems linked ... following organizations are good resources for information on alcoholism: Alcoholics Anonymous -- www.aa.org Al-Anon/Alateen -- ...

... objects in the shoes Guarding the extremities to prevent injury from pressure Alcohol must be stopped to prevent the damage from ... The only way to prevent alcoholic neuropathy is not to drink excessive amounts of alcohol.

... increase the risk of certain cancers. It can cause damage to the liver, brain, and other organs. Drinking during pregnancy can harm your baby. Alcohol also increases the risk of death from car crashes, injuries, homicide, and suicide. If you want to stop drinking, there is ...

Rubbing alcoholAlcohol swabs Skin and hair products Nail polish remover Note: This list may not be all ... number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions. This is ...

Alcoholic hallucinosis is a rare complication of chronic alcohol abuse characterized by predominantly auditory hallucinations that occur either during or after a period of heavy alcohol consumption. Bleuler (1916) termed the condition as alcohol hallucinosis and differentiated it from Delirium Tremens. Usually it presents with acoustic verbal hallucinations, delusions and mood disturbances arising in clear consciousness and sometimes may progress to a chronic form mimicking schizophrenia. One such case with multimodal hallucinations in a Defence Service Corps soldier is presented here. PMID:24250051

We received 38 controlled studies of marital and family therapy (MFT) in alcoholism treatment. We conclude that, when the alcoholic is unwilling to seek help, MFT is effective in helping the family cope better and motivating alcoholics to enter treatment. Specifically, (a) Al-Anon facilitation and referral help family members cope better; (b)…

Recognition of alcoholism as a treatable illness is a result of public education based on scientific facts. This publication, a digest of a more detailed survey of research about drinking and alcoholism, presents information about alcohol and its effects on individuals and society. It provides facts about the short-term and long-term effects of…

Alcohol is the most frequently consumed toxic substance in the world. Low to moderate daily intake of alcohol has been shown to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. In contrast, exposure to high levels of alcohol for a long period could lead to progressive cardiac dysfunction and heart failure. Cardiac dysfunction associated with chronic and excessive alcohol intake is a specific cardiac disease known as alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM). In spite of its clinical importance, data on ACM and how alcohol damages the heart are limited. In this review, we evaluate available evidence linking excessive alcohol consumption with heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy. Additionally, we discuss the clinical presentation, prognosis and treatment of ACM. PMID:25228956

[beta]-Furfuryl-[beta]-glucoside (FG) has been shown to be a specific endogenous activator of higher plant callose synthase. Because glycosides such as FG are usually sequestered in vacuoles, we have proposed that activation of callose synthesis in vivo may involve a change in the compartmentation on FG and Ca[sup 2+], resulting in a synergistic activation of callose synthase. The use of suspension-cultured barley (Hordeum bulbosum L.) cells provides evidence that FG is largely sequestered in the vacuole. Furthermore, conditions that lead to induction of callose synthesis in vivo correspondingly lead to elevation of the cytoplasmic concentration of FG. These conditions include the lowering of cytoplasmic pH or elevation of cytoplasmic Ca[sup 2+]. Oligogalacturonide elicitors have also been reported to cause similar changes in cytoplasmic pH and Ca[sup 2+] concentration, and such an elicitor also causes and elevation in cytoplasmic FG coupled with stimulation of callose synthesis. These results support the concept that a relative redistribution of FG between cytoplasm and vacuole may be one of the components of the signal transduction pathway for elicitation of callose synthase in vivo. 18 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.

The anionic block copolymerization of 4,4 -vinylphenyl-N,N-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)benzenamine (A) with furfuryl isocyanate (B) was carried out using potassium naphthalenide (K-Naph) in tetrahydrofuran at 78 and 98 C to prepare well-defined block copolymers containing furan groups for the formation of thermoreversible networks via a Diels Alder (DA) reaction. While no block copolymerization was observed in the absence of sodium tetraphenylborate (NaBPh4) due to side reactions, well-defined poly-(B-b-A-b-B) (PBAB) copolymers with controlled molecular weights (Mn = 18 700 19 500 g mol 1) and narrow molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn = 1.08 1.17) were successfully synthesized in the presence of excess NaBPh4. The occurrencemore » of the undesirable side reactions during polymerization of B was effectively prevented by NaBPh4, which results in the change in the countercation from K+ to Na+ for further polymerization of B. The cross-linking via the DA reaction between the furan groups of PBAB and bismaleimide was proved by FT-IR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the thermoreversible properties of the cross-linked polymer were subsequently investigated using DSC and solubility testing.« less

The anionic block copolymerization of 4,4 -vinylphenyl-N,N-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)benzenamine (A) with furfuryl isocyanate (B) was carried out using potassium naphthalenide (K-Naph) in tetrahydrofuran at 78 and 98 C to prepare well-defined block copolymers containing furan groups for the formation of thermoreversible networks via a Diels Alder (DA) reaction. While no block copolymerization was observed in the absence of sodium tetraphenylborate (NaBPh4) due to side reactions, well-defined poly-(B-b-A-b-B) (PBAB) copolymers with controlled molecular weights (Mn = 18 700 19 500 g mol 1) and narrow molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn = 1.08 1.17) were successfully synthesized in the presence of excess NaBPh4. The occurrence of the undesirable side reactions during polymerization of B was effectively prevented by NaBPh4, which results in the change in the countercation from K+ to Na+ for further polymerization of B. The cross-linking via the DA reaction between the furan groups of PBAB and bismaleimide was proved by FT-IR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the thermoreversible properties of the cross-linked polymer were subsequently investigated using DSC and solubility testing.

Preparing an aldehyde from an alcohol by contacting the alcohol in the presence of oxygen with a catalyst prepared by contacting an intimate mixture containing metal oxide support particles and particles of a catalytically active metal oxide from Groups VA, VIA, or VIIA, with a gaseous stream containing an alcohol to cause metal oxide from the discrete catalytically active metal oxide particles to migrate to the metal oxide support particles and to form a monolayer of catalytically active metal oxide on said metal oxide support particles.

... Seeing or feeling things that aren't there (hallucinations) Seizures Severe confusion ... alcohol withdrawal. You will be watched closely for hallucinations and other signs of delirium tremens. Treatment may ...

... that interferes with physical or mental health, and social, family or job responsibilities. This addiction can lead to liver, circulatory and neurological problems. Pregnant women who drink alcohol in any amount ...

Alcohol withdrawal is a common clinical condition that has a variety of complications and morbidities. The manifestations can range from mild agitation to withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens. The treatments for alcohol withdrawal include benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, beta-blockers and antihypertensives. Although benzodiazepines are presently a first-line therapy, there is controversy regarding the efficacies of these medications compared with others. Treatment protocols often involve one of two contrasting approaches: symptom-triggered versus fixed-schedule dosing of benzodiazepines. We describe these protocols in our review and examine the data supporting symptom-triggered dosing as the preferred method for most patients in withdrawal.The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol scoring system for alcohol withdrawal streamlines care, optimizes patient management, and is the best scale available for withdrawal assessment. Quality improvement implications for inpatient management of alcohol withdrawal include increasing training for signs of withdrawal and symptom recognition, adding new hospital protocols to employee curricula, and ensuring manageable patient-to-physician and patient-to-nurse ratios. PMID:23128805

MENU Return to Web version Naltrexone for Alcoholism Naltrexone for Alcoholism Is alcoholism a disease? Yes. Most experts agree that alcoholism is a disease, just as high blood pressure, diabetes and ...

... alcohol can cause a group of conditions called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). Effects can include physical and behavioral problems such ... alcohol syndrome is the most serious type of FASD. People with fetal alcohol syndrome have facial abnormalities, ...

Allyl alcohol ; CASRN 107 - 18 - 6 Human health assessment information on a chemical substance is included in the IRIS database only after a comprehensive review of toxicity data , as outlined in the IRIS assessment development process . Sections I ( Health Hazard Assessments for Noncarcinogenic Eff

Isobutyl alcohol ; CASRN 78 - 83 - 1 Human health assessment information on a chemical substance is included in the IRIS database only after a comprehensive review of toxicity data , as outlined in the IRIS assessment development process . Sections I ( Health Hazard Assessments for Noncarcinogenic E

Propargyl alcohol ; CASRN 107 - 19 - 7 Human health assessment information on a chemical substance is included in the IRIS database only after a comprehensive review of toxicity data , as outlined in the IRIS assessment development process . Sections I ( Health Hazard Assessments for Noncarcinogenic

The API publication 4312 reports a detailed study carried out by Battelle on the energy balances for five alcohol-fuel-producing technologies. The results indicate that processes for producing ethanol from corn are net consumers of energy while ethanol from sugar cane and methanol from wood are net energy producers.

Briefly discusses some aspects of the role of the state and the position of minorities in respect to alcoholism policies and services. Includes case study of a Black alcoholic. Refers readers to studies on Black alcoholism, Native American alcoholism, Hispanic alcoholism, and Asian-American alcoholism. (Author/NB)

We synthesized poly((furfuryl methacrylate)-co-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)) (p(FMA-co-DMAEMA)) for the dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) while maintaining their high aspect ratios. The nanotubes' length and height were 2.0 μm and 2 nm, as determined by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Transparent conductive films (TCFs) were fabricated by individually dispersed long SWCNTs onto a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate. The sheet resistance (Rs) was 210 Ω □-1 with 81% transmittance at a wavelength of 550 nm. To reduce their Rs, the TCFs were treated with HNO3 and SOCl2. After treatment, the TCFs had an Rs of 85.75 Ω □-1 at a transmittance of 85%. The TCFs exhibited no appreciable change over 200 repeated bending cycles. Dispersing SWCNTs with this newly synthesized polymer is an effective way to fabricate a transparent, highly conductive and flexible film.

We have investigated the gas-phase chemistry in dense cores where ice mantles containing ethanol and other alcohols have been evaporated. Model calculations show that methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol drive a chemistry leading to the formation of several large ethers and esters. Of these molecules, methyl ethyl ether (CH3OC2H5) and diethyl ether (C2H5)2O attain the highest abundances and should be present in detectable quantities within cores rich in ethanol and methanol. Gas-phase reactions act to destroy evaporated ethanol and a low observed abundance of gas-phase C,H,OH does not rule out a high solid-phase abundance. Grain surface formation mechanisms and other possible gas-phase reactions driven by alcohols are discussed, as are observing strategies for the detection of these large interstellar molecules.

Chronic alcohol consumption results in considerable damage to many of the body's organs, and particularly to the brain. Beyond the confusional state occurring with acute intoxication or withdrawal, alcohol abuse is responsible of a constellation of neuropsychiatric syndromes including cognitive dysfunction, Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, alcoholic cerebellar degeneration, Marchiafava-Bignami disease and alcohol-related dementia, ARD. ARD would account for nearly 20% of all admissions to state mental hospitals in the United-States. According to the DSM-IV, ARD is defined by a dementia associated with alcohol abuse. However, the concept of a dementia directly related to the neurotoxicity of alcohol for brain neurons is still a matter of debate. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanisms of cognitive deficits related to chronic alcohol intoxication. This paper presents the epidemiological, neuropathological, neurochemical and clinical data on ARD. Alcoholism is responsible for cognitive deficits of various severity, which could be reversible or not with alcohol abstinence, but can also participate to the cognitive impairment related to other pathologies, such as Alzheimer disease. On account of this review, it is suggested that the term alcohol-related cognitive impairment should be more convenient than that of ARD, more restrictive and more confusing. Presently, there are no established treatment for alcohol-related cognitive impairment. Alcohol abstinence is a most important step. Psychosocial interventions are essential to support the patients in the daily life. PMID:15683959

Insomnia and alcoholism are significantly associated in community surveys and patient samples. Insomnia occurs in 36-72% of alcoholic patients and may last for weeks to months after initiating abstinence from alcohol. Some correlates of insomnia in alcoholic patients are identical to those observed in non-alcoholic insomniacs, including anxiety and depression, tobacco smoking, and the use of alcohol to aid sleep. Other studies suggest that as the severity of alcoholism increases, so does the likelihood of insomnia in alcoholic patients. In the sleep laboratory, alcoholic patients who complain of insomnia have disrupted sleep continuity when compared to alcoholic patients without insomnia complaints. Recently sober alcoholics are also more likely than non-alcoholics to have sleep-disordered breathing and increased periodic leg movements, which might contribute to insomnia in some alcoholic patients. The co-occurrence of insomnia and alcoholism is clinically significant because alcoholism can exacerbate the adverse consequences of insomnia (e.g. mood changes and performance decrements) and because insomnia among patients entering treatment for alcoholism has been significantly associated with subsequent alcoholic relapse. Baseline polysomnographic correlates of subsequent relapse include prolonged sleep latency, decreased sleep efficiency and total sleep time, increased rapid eye movement sleep pressure, and decreased slow wave sleep. Whether treatment of insomnia in alcoholic patients reduces relapse rates is unknown, but preliminary treatment guidelines that accommodate the special characteristics of alcoholic patients are provided, with a goal to reduce daytime impairment and psychological distress. PMID:15018094

Alcohol test - breath ... There are various brands of breath alcohol tests. Each one uses a different method to test the level of alcohol in the breath. The machine may be electronic or manual. One ...

... who are dealing with alcohol use. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) Alcoholics Anonymous is a self-help group of ... approach. There are local chapters throughout the U.S. AA offers help 24 hours a day. AL-ANON ...

Liver disease due to alcohol; Cirrhosis or hepatitis - alcoholic; Laennec's cirrhosis ... Alcoholic liver disease occurs after years of heavy drinking. Over time, scarring and cirrhosis can occur. Cirrhosis is the ...

Traces the history of alcohol use in the United States from the colonial period to the present. Discusses changes in public attitudes toward drinking. Explores attempts at prohibition, alcohol preferences, the relationship between alcohol consumption and economic prosperity, and the dichotomy of alcohol as a part of a European heritage that is…

Nurses' attitudes toward the alcoholic can have a profound impact on the person suffering from alcoholism. These attitudes can affect the alcoholic's care and even whether the alcoholic chooses to recover. This study investigated attitudes of approximately 68 nurses employed in hospitals, 49 nurses in treatment facilities, 58 nursing students, and…

Ethanol intoxication and ethanol use are associated with a variety of metabolic derangements encountered in the Emergency Department. In this article, the authors discuss alcohol intoxication and its treatment, dispel the myth that alcohol intoxication is associated with hypoglycemia, comment on electrolyte derangements and their management, review alcoholic ketoacidosis, and end with a section on alcoholic encephalopathy. PMID:24766933

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Internet alcohol marketing is not well studied despite its prevalence and potential accessibility and attractiveness to youth. The objective was to examine longitudinal associations between self-reported engagement with Internet alcohol marketing and alcohol use transitions in youth. METHODS A US sample of 2012 youths aged 15 to 20 was surveyed in 2011. An Internet alcohol marketing receptivity score was developed, based on number of positive responses to seeing alcohol advertising on the Internet, visiting alcohol brand Web sites, being an online alcohol brand fan, and cued recall of alcohol brand home page images. We assessed the association between baseline marketing receptivity and both ever drinking and binge drinking (≥6 drinks per occasion) at 1-year follow-up with multiple logistic regression, controlling for baseline drinking status, Internet use, sociodemographics, personality characteristics, and peer or parent drinking. RESULTS At baseline, ever-drinking and binge-drinking prevalence was 55% and 27%, respectively. Many (59%) reported seeing Internet alcohol advertising, but few reported going to an alcohol Web site (6%) or being an online fan (3%). Higher Internet use, sensation seeking, having family or peers who drank, and past alcohol use were associated with Internet alcohol marketing receptivity, and a score of 1 or 2 was independently associated with greater adjusted odds of initiating binge drinking (odds ratio 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.13–2.78 and odds ratio 2.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–4.37 respectively) but not with initiation of ever drinking. CONCLUSIONS Although high levels of engagement with Internet alcohol marketing were uncommon, most underage youths reported seeing it, and we found a prospective association between receptivity to this type of alcohol marketing and future problem drinking, making additional research and ongoing surveillance important. PMID:26738886

Alcohol dependence and abuse is one of the most costly health problems in the world from both a social and an economic point of view. It is a widespread problem, focusing attention not only psychiatrists but also doctors of other specialties. Patterns of drinking appear to be changing throughout the world, with more women and young people drinking heavily. Even risky drinking is a potential health risk, while chronic alcohol abuse contribute to the serious physical and mental complications. Alcohol used disorders associated with alcohol-induced brain damage include: withdrawal state, delirium tremens, alcoholic hallucinosis, alcoholic paranoia, Korsakoffs psychosis, alcoholic dementia, alcoholic depression. On the other hand, mental disorders as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorder most frequently comorbid with alcohol abuse or they trigger alcohol. PMID:23157139

The effects of alcohol on induction of arrhythmias is dose-dependent, independent of preexisting cardiovascular diseases or heart failure and can affect otherwise healthy subjects. While the probability of atrial fibrillation increases with the alcohol dosage, events of sudden cardiac death are less frequent with low and moderate consumption but occur more often in heavy drinkers with alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Men are first affected at higher dosages of alcohol but women can suffer from arrhythmias at lower dosages. Thromboembolisms and ischemic stroke can occur less often at lower dosages of alcohol; however, hemorrhagic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage are increased with higher alcohol dosages. Recognizable protective mechanisms of alcohol with respect to cardiovascular diseases only occur with lower amounts of alcohol of less than 10 g per day. Underlying mechanisms explain these controversial effects. Specific therapeutic options for alcohol-related arrhythmias apart from abstinence from alcohol consumption are not known. PMID:27582366

Ethanol is an alcohol made from grain that can be blended with gasoline to extend petroleum supplies and to increase gasoline octane levels. Congressional proposals to encourage greater use of alternative fuels could increase the demand for ethanol. This report evaluates the growth potential of the ethanol industry to meet future demand increases and the impacts increased production would have on American agriculture and the federal budget. It is found that ethanol production could double or triple in the next eight years, and that American farmers could provide the corn for this production increase. While corn growers would benefit, other agricultural segments would not; soybean producers, for example could suffer for increased corn oil production (an ethanol byproduct) and cattle ranchers would be faced with higher feed costs because of higher corn prices. Poultry farmers might benefit from lower priced feed. Overall, net farm cash income should increase, and consumers would see slightly higher food prices. Federal budget impacts would include a reduction in federal farm program outlays by an annual average of between $930 million (for double current production of ethanol) to $1.421 billion (for triple production) during the eight-year growth period. However, due to an partial tax exemption for ethanol blended fuels, federal fuel tax revenues could decrease by between $442 million and $813 million.

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is an acute inflammatory syndrome causing significant morbidity and mortality. The prognosis is strongly dependent on disease severity, as assessed by clinical scoring systems. Reliable epidemiological data as well as knowledge of the clinical course of AH are essential for planning and resource allocation within the health care system. Likewise, individual evaluation of risk is desirable in the clinical handling of patients with AH as it can guide treatment, improve patient information, and serve as strata in clinical trials. The present PhD thesis is based on three studies using a cohort of nearly 2000 patients diagnosed with AH in Denmark from 1999 to 2008 as a cohort, in a population-based study design. The aims of this thesis were as follows. (1) To describe the incidence and short- and long-term mortality, of AH in Denmark (Study I). (2) To validate and compare the ability of the currently available prognostic scores to predict mortality in AH (Study II). (3) To investigate the short- and long-term causes of death of patients with AH (Study III). During the study decade, the annual incidence rate in the Danish population rose from 37 to 46 per 106 for men and from 24 to 34 per 106 for women. Both short- and long-term mortality rose for men and women, and the increase in short-term mortality was attributable to increasing patient age and prevalence of cirrhosis. Our evaluation of the most commonly used prognostic scores for predicting the mortality of patients with AH showed that all scores performed similarly, with Area under the Receiver Operator Characteristics curves giving values between 0.74 and 0.78 for 28-day mortality assessed on admission. Our study on causes of death showed that in the short-term (< 84 days after diagnosis), patients with AH were likely to die from liver-related events and infections. In the long-term (≥ 84 days after diagnosis), those who developed cirrhosis mainly died from liver-related causes, and

Natural products have a long history of use in traditional medicines and their activities against different diseases have been the focus of many basic and clinical researches in past few decades. The essential oils, volatile liquid containing aroma compound from plants, are known as active ingredients in the herbal medicine. Perillyl alcohol (POH) is usually available through dietary sources and is being explored for its cancer chemoprevention, tumor growth suppression, and regression. Citrus peels are the waste product of juice manufacturing industries and have been considered as a critical problem for environmental green ecology policies for years. One of the most well-known approaches to overcome this problem is transformation of these monoterpene by the use of specific strains of bacteria or yeasts. Limonene (1-methyl-4-isopropyl-cyclohexene) is a monoterpene, as other monoterpenes consists of two isoprene units, that comprises more than 90% of citrus essential oil and it exists in many fruits and vegetables. Although, the anticancer activity of d-limonene has identified nearly two decades ago, it has recently attracted much more attention in translational medicine. In this chapter, we will overview the anticancer effects of POH and d-limonene. Later, we will address the pharmacokinetics of these compounds, highlight the signaling pathways which are targeted by these proteins, review the clinical trials which have been done for these compounds in different cancer models, and finally discuss the future directions of the research in this field that might be more applicable in future cancer therapy strategies. PMID:27102697

Alcoholism, a worldwide disorder, is the cause of a variety of neurologic disorders. In this article we discuss the cellular pathophysiology of ethanol addition and abuse as well as evidence supporting and refuting the role of inheritance in alcoholism. A genetic marker for alcoholism has not been identified, but neurophysiologic studies may be promising. Some neurologic disorders related to longterm alcoholism are due predominantly to inadequate nutrition (the thiamine deficiency that causes Wernicke's encephalopathy), but others appear to involve the neurotoxicity of ethanol on brain (alcohol withdrawal syndrome and dementia) and peripheral nerves (alcoholic neuropathy and myopathy). Images PMID:7975567

Prenatal exposure to alcohol can damage the developing fetus and is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities. In 1973, fetal alcohol syndrome was first described as a specific cluster of birth defects resulting from alcohol exposure in utero. Subsequently, research unequivocally revealed that prenatal alcohol exposure causes a broad range of adverse developmental effects. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the general term that encompasses the range of adverse effects associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. The diagnostic criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome are specific, and comprehensive efforts are ongoing to establish definitive criteria for diagnosing the other FASDs. A large and growing body of research has led to evidence-based FASD education of professionals and the public, broader prevention initiatives, and recommended treatment approaches based on the following premises:▪ Alcohol-related birth defects and developmental disabilities are completely preventable when pregnant women abstain from alcohol use.▪ Neurocognitive and behavioral problems resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure are lifelong.▪ Early recognition, diagnosis, and therapy for any condition along the FASD continuum can result in improved outcomes.▪ During pregnancy:◦no amount of alcohol intake should be considered safe;◦there is no safe trimester to drink alcohol;◦all forms of alcohol, such as beer, wine, and liquor, pose similar risk; and◦binge drinking poses dose-related risk to the developing fetus. PMID:26482673

The Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Science Database, commonly referred to as ETOH, is the most comprehensive online resource covering all aspects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Produced by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), ETOH contains over 110,000 ...

... version of this page please turn Javascript on. Alcohol Use and Older Adults Alcohol and Aging Adults of any age can have ... Escape (Esc) button on your keyboard.) What Is Alcohol? Alcohol, also known as ethanol, is a chemical ...

... Heavy drinkers (those who drink more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day) are at greater risk of giving ... the healthier your baby will be. Choose non-alcoholic versions of beverages you like. If you cannot control your drinking, ...

Benzyl alcohol lotion is used to treat head lice (small insects that attach themselves to the skin) in adults and children ... It works by killing the lice. Benzyl alcohol lotion will not kill lice eggs, so the medication ...

... Overview Cancer Prevention Overview–for health professionals Research Alcohol and Cancer Risk On This Page What is ... in the risk of colorectal cancer. Research on alcohol consumption and other cancers: Numerous studies have examined ...

... gov/ency/patientinstructions/000856.htm Myths about drinking alcohol To use the sharing features on this page, ... We know much more about the effects of alcohol today than in the past. Yet, myths remain ...

... on Pinterest Follow us on Instagram DONATE TODAY Alcohol and Migraine Abuse, Maltreatment, and PTSD and Their ... to Migraine Altitude, Acute Mountain Sickness and Headache Alcohol and Migraine Anxiety and Depression Caffeine and Migraine ...

... developing some kinds of cancer. The way alcohol causes cancer isn’t completely understood. In fact, there might ... For example, it could be that alcohol itself causes cancer by increasing hormone levels, or it may be ...

... group of defects in the baby known as fetal alcohol syndrome. Symptoms can include: Behavior and attention problems Heart ... risk of giving birth to a child with fetal alcohol syndrome . The more you drink, the more you raise ...

... Daily life skills, such as feeding and bathing Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most serious type of FASD. People with fetal alcohol syndrome have facial abnormalities, including wide-set and narrow ...

This study investigates the effects of alcohol advertising on adolescent alcohol consumption. The theory of an industry response function and evidence from prior studies indicate the importance of maximizing the variance in advertising measures. Monitoring the Future (MTF) and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) data are augmented with alcohol advertising, originating on the market level, for five media. The large sample of the MTF allows estimation of race and gender-specific models. The longitudinal nature of the NLSY97 allows controls for unobserved heterogeneity with state-level and individual fixed effects. Price and advertising effects are generally larger for females relative to males. Controls for individual heterogeneity yield larger advertising effects, implying that the MTF results may understate the effects of alcohol advertising. Results from the NLSY97 suggest that a 28% reduction in alcohol advertising would reduce adolescent monthly alcohol participation from 25% to between 24 and 21%. For binge participation, the reduction would be from 12% to between 11 and 8%. The past month price-participation elasticity is estimated at -0.26, consistent with prior studies. The results show that reduction of alcohol advertising can produce a modest decline in adolescent alcohol consumption, though effects may vary by race and gender. PMID:16475245

This guide reviews audiovisual materials currently available on alcohol abuse and alcoholism. An alphabetical index of audiovisual materials is followed by synopses of the indexed materials. Information about the intended audience, price, rental fee, and distributor is included. This guide also provides a list of publications related to media…

A series of 99 fatal motorcycle crashes in Maryland was studied retrospectively, using police and medical examiner records. Blood alcohol concentrations were determined for 62 motorcycle drivers; measurable amounts of alcohol were found in two-thirds (41), and one-half (31) had illegally high concentrations of 100 mg/100 ml or more. The police report mentioned alcohol in only 9 instances. High blood alcohol concentrations were found most commonly among drivers age 20-34. PMID:842762

States that adolescents begin to drink alcohol at ever younger ages, partly because they receive mixed messages from the media. Argues that drug prevention groups must project accurate, consistent, and effective messages about alcohol for youth and that schools must provide education about the specific health risks of alcohol beginning in grade…

This document reports on the relationship between alcohol abuse and battering. Several theories, e.g., the disinhibition, disavowal, and learned behavior theories concerning the relationship between alcohol abuse and family violence are discussed. Literature on the relationship between alcohol and family violence is reviewed. Five intervention and…

Reviews the role of biological factors in the risk for alcoholism. Notes the importance of the definition of primary alcoholism and highlights data indicating that this disorder is genetically influenced. In studies of men at high risk for the future development of alcoholism, vulnerability shows up in reactions to ethanol brain wave amplitude and…

Concern about how much television alcohol advertising reaches underage youth and how the advertising influences their attitudes and decisions about alcohol use has been widespread for many years. Lacking in the policy debate has been solid, reliable information about the extent of youth exposure to television alcohol advertising. To address this…

This chapter explores the issues involved in the relationship between lesbianism and alcoholism. It examines the constellation of health and related problems created by alcoholism, and it critically interrogates the societal factors that contribute to the disproportionately high rates of alcoholism among lesbians by exploring the antecedents and…

Presents analysis of adult children of alcoholics, their experience and adjustment in relation to the severity and type of alcoholism, age considerations and perceptions as a child, and existence and nature of significant others. Discusses alcoholics' and others' family issues, focusing on roles taken, and personality characteristics. Emphasizes…

Alcohol use on campus and strategies colleges are using to educate students about alcohol are considered in two articles. In "When Alternatives Aren't," Ruth Bradford Burnham and Stephen J. Nelson explore the role alcoholic beverages play in young people's social lives and some of the implications for planning social events. They offer a balanced…

Discusses children of alcoholics as victims of fetal alcohol syndrome, family violence, retarded social development, and severe emotional scars. These children bring family roles to school that allow survival in the alcoholic home but are dysfunctional outside it. Educators can take certain steps to address these students' problems. Includes six…

Society has had an interest in controlling the production, distribution, and use of alcohol for millennia. The use of alcohol has always had consequences, be they positive or negative, and the role of government in the regulation of alcohol is now universal. This is accomplished at several levels, first through controls on production, importation, distribution, and use of alcoholic beverages, and second, through criminal laws, the aim of which is to address the behavior of users themselves. A number of interventions and policies reduce alcohol-related consequences to society by regulating alcohol pricing, targeting alcohol-impaired driving, and limiting alcohol availability. The legal system defines criminal responsibility in the context of alcohol use, as an enormous percentage of violent crime and motor death is associated with alcohol intoxication. In recent years, recovery-oriented policies have aimed to expand social supports for recovery and to improve access to treatment for substance use disorders within the criminal justice system. The Affordable Care Act, also know as "ObamaCare," made substantial changes to access to substance abuse treatment by mandating that health insurance include services for substance use disorders comparable to coverage for medical and surgical treatments. Rather than a simplified "war on drugs" approach, there appears to be an increasing emphasis on evidence-based policy development that approaches alcohol use disorders with hope for treatment and prevention. This chapter focuses on alcohol and the law in the United States. PMID:25307602

Maintains that minority youth who use (or abuse) alcohol in American society deal with using alcohol, being minority, and being young, three dimensions viewed by society with mixed, sometimes hostile and/or fearful reactions. Suggests that examining alcoholism among minority youth involves coming to grips with poverty, education, income, and life…

Alcohol abuse is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease and can lead to tissue damage and organ dysfunction in a subset of alcoholics. However, a subset of alcoholics without any of these predisposing factors can develop alcohol-mediated organ injury. The gastrointestinal tract (GI) could be an important source of inflammation in alcohol-mediated organ damage. The purpose of review was to evaluate mechanisms of alcohol-induced endotoxemia (including dysbiosis and gut leakiness), and highlight the predisposing factors for alcohol-induced dysbiosis and gut leakiness to endotoxins. Barriers, including immunologic, physical, and biochemical can regulate the passage of toxins into the portal and systemic circulation. In addition, a host of environmental interactions including those influenced by circadian rhythms can impact alcohol-induced organ pathology. There appears to be a role for therapeutic measures to mitigate alcohol-induced organ damage by normalizing intestinal dysbiosis and/or improving intestinal barrier integrity. Ultimately, the inflammatory process that drives progression into organ damage from alcohol appears to be multifactorial. Understanding the role of the intestine in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease can pose further avenues for pathogenic and treatment approaches. PMID:26501334

Although pregnant women are discouraged from drinking alcohol because of alcohol's detrimental effect on fetal development, the lore of many cultures encourages lactating women to drink alcohol to optimize breast milk production and infant nutrition. In contrast to this folklore, however, studies demonstrate that maternal alcohol consumption may slightly reduce milk production. Furthermore, some of the alcohol consumed by a lactating woman is transferred to her milk and thus consumed by the infant. This alcohol consumption may adversely affect the infant's sleep and gross motor development and influence early learning about alcohol. Based on this science, it would seem that the recommendation for a nursing mother to drink a glass of beer or wine shortly before nursing may actually be counterproductive. PMID:11810962

This paper is based upon the "Charles Lieber Satellite Symposia" organized by Manuela G. Neuman at the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Annual Meetings, 2013 and 2014. The present review includes pre-clinical, translational and clinical research that characterize alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In addition, a literature search in the discussed area was performed. Strong clinical and experimental evidence lead to recognition of the key toxic role of alcohol in the pathogenesis of ALD. The liver biopsy can confirm the etiology of NASH or alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) and assess structural alterations of cells, their organelles, as well as inflammatory activity. Three histological stages of ALD are simple steatosis, ASH, and chronic hepatitis with hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis. These latter stages may also be associated with a number of cellular and histological changes, including the presence of Mallory's hyaline, megamitochondria, or perivenular and perisinusoidal fibrosis. Genetic polymorphisms of ethanol metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome p450 (CYP) 2E1 activation may change the severity of ASH and NASH. Alcohol mediated hepatocarcinogenesis, immune response to alcohol in ASH, as well as the role of other risk factors such as its co-morbidities with chronic viral hepatitis in the presence or absence of human immunodeficiency virus are discussed. Dysregulation of hepatic methylation, as result of ethanol exposure, in hepatocytes transfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), illustrates an impaired interferon signaling. The hepatotoxic effects of ethanol undermine the contribution of malnutrition to the liver injury. Dietary interventions such as micro and macronutrients, as well as changes to the microbiota are suggested. The clinical aspects of NASH, as part of metabolic syndrome in the aging population, are offered. The integrative symposia investigate different aspects of alcohol-induced liver damage and possible

This paper is based upon the “Charles Lieber Satellite Symposia” organized by Manuela G. Neuman at the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Annual Meetings, 2013 and 2014. The present review includes pre-clinical, translational and clinical research that characterize alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In addition, a literature search in the discussed area was performed. Strong clinical and experimental evidence lead to recognition of the key toxic role of alcohol in the pathogenesis of ALD. The liver biopsy can confirm the etiology of NASH or alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) and assess structural alterations of cells, their organelles, as well as inflammatory activity. Three histological stages of ALD are simple steatosis, ASH, and chronic hepatitis with hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis. These latter stages may also be associated with a number of cellular and histological changes, including the presence of Mallory's hyaline, megamitochondria, or perivenular and perisinusoidal fibrosis. Genetic polymorphisms of ethanol metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome p450 (CYP) 2E1 activation may change the severity of ASH and NASH. Alcohol mediated hepatocarcinogenesis, immune response to alcohol in ASH, as well as the role of other risk factors such as its comorbidities with chronic viral hepatitis in the presence or absence of human deficiency virus are discussed. Dysregulation of hepatic methylation, as result of ethanol exposure, in hepatocytes transfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), illustrates an impaired interferon signaling. The hepatotoxic effects of ethanol undermine the contribution of malnutrition to the liver injury. Dietary interventions such as micro and macronutrients, as well as changes to the microbiota are suggested. The clinical aspects of NASH, as part of metabolic syndrome in the aging population, are offered. The integrative symposia investigate different aspects of alcohol-induced liver damage and possible

Alcohol is a potent somnogen and one of the most commonly used "over the counter" sleep aids. In healthy non-alcoholics, acute alcohol decreases sleep latency, consolidates and increases the quality (delta power) and quantity of NREM sleep during the first half of the night. However, sleep is disrupted during the second half. Alcoholics, both during drinking periods and during abstinences, suffer from a multitude of sleep disruptions manifested by profound insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, and altered sleep architecture. Furthermore, subjective and objective indicators of sleep disturbances are predictors of relapse. Finally, within the USA, it is estimated that societal costs of alcohol-related sleep disorders exceeds $18 billion. Thus, although alcohol-associated sleep problems have significant economic and clinical consequences, very little is known about how and where alcohol acts to affect sleep. In this review, we have described our attempts to unravel the mechanism of alcohol-induced sleep disruptions. We have conducted a series of experiments using two different species, rats and mice, as animal models. We performed microdialysis, immunohistochemical, pharmacological, sleep deprivation and lesion studies which suggest that the sleep-promoting effects of alcohol may be mediated via alcohol's action on the mediators of sleep homeostasis: adenosine (AD) and the wake-promoting cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain (BF). Alcohol, via its action on AD uptake, increases extracellular AD resulting in the inhibition of BF wake-promoting neurons. Since binge alcohol consumption is a highly prevalent pattern of alcohol consumption and disrupts sleep, we examined the effects of binge drinking on sleep-wakefulness. Our results suggest that disrupted sleep homeostasis may be the primary cause of sleep disruption observed following binge drinking. Finally, we have also shown that sleep disruptions observed during acute withdrawal, are caused due to impaired

Recently South Korean society has experienced an increase in alcohol use related problems, as well as alcohol use among women. The purpose of this paper is to describe the cultural context of and to summarize the current state of knowledge of women's drinking in South Korea. Subscribing to Confucian principles, traditional Korean society has allowed drinking for men, but not for women. However, as society has changed, contemporary women drink at a younger age and consume larger amounts of alcohol than their prior generations. The current trends suggest an urgent need for research on the etiology and trajectory of women's alcohol use among various populations and the need to develop intervention programs tailored to the specific needs of women. PMID:18649231

Alcoholism is a debilitating disorder for the individual and very costly for society. A major goal of alcohol research is to understand the neural underpinnings associated with the transition from alcohol use to alcohol dependence. Positive reinforcement is important in the early stages of alcohol use and abuse. Negative reinforcement can be important early in alcohol use by people self-medicating coexisting affective disorders, but its role likely increases following the transition to dependence. Chronic exposure to alcohol induces changes in neural circuits that control motivational processes, including arousal, reward, and stress. These changes affect systems utilizing the signaling molecules dopamine, opioid peptides, γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, and serotonin, as well as systems modulating the brain’s stress response. These neuroadaptations produce changes in sensitivity to alcohol’s effects following repeated exposure (i.e., sensitization and tolerance) and a withdrawal state following discontinuation of alcohol use. Chronic alcohol exposure also results in persistent neural deficits, some of which may fully recover following extended periods of abstinence. However, the organism remains susceptible to relapse, even after long periods of abstinence. Recent research focusing on brain arousal, reward, and stress systems is accelerating our understanding of the components of alcohol dependence and contributing to the development of new treatment strategies. PMID:19881886

The high levels of alcohol consumption characteristic of adolescence may be in part biologically based, given that elevated consumption levels are also evident during this developmental transition in other mammalian species as well. Studies conducted using a simple animal model of adolescence in the rat has shown adolescents to be more sensitive than adults to social facilitatory and rewarding effects of alcohol, but less sensitive to numerous alcohol effects that may serve as cues to limit intake. These age-specific alcohol sensitivities appear related to differential rates of development of neural systems underlying different alcohol effects as well as to an ontogenetic decline in rapid brain compensations to alcohol, termed “acute tolerance”. In contrast, these adolescent-typical sensitivities to alcohol do not appear to be notably influenced by pubertally-related increases in gonadal hormones. Although data are sparse, there are hints that similar alcohol sensitivities may also be seen in human adolescents, with this developmentally decreased sensitivity to alcohol’s intoxicating effects possibly exacerbated by genetic vulnerabilities also characterized by an insensitivity to alcohol intoxication, thereby perhaps permitting especially high levels of alcohol consumption among vulnerable youth. PMID:25309054

Despite the generally held view that alcohol is an unspecific pharmacological agent, recent molecular pharmacology studies demonstrated that alcohol has only a few known primary targets. These are the NMDA, GABA(A), glycine, 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 (serotonin) and nicotinic ACh receptors as well as L-type Ca(2+) channels and G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying K(+) channels. Following this first hit of alcohol on specific targets in the brain, a second wave of indirect effects on a variety of neurotransmitter/neuropeptide systems is initiated that leads subsequently to the typical acute behavioural effects of alcohol, ranging from disinhibition to sedation and even hypnosis, with increasing concentrations of alcohol. Besides these acute pharmacodynamic aspects of alcohol, we discuss the neurochemical substrates that are involved in the initiation and maintenance phase of an alcohol drinking behaviour. Finally, addictive behaviour towards alcohol as measured by alcohol-seeking and relapse behaviour is reviewed in the context of specific neurotransmitter/neuropeptide systems and their signalling pathways. The activity of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system plays a crucial role during the initiation phase of alcohol consumption. Following long-term, chronic alcohol consumption virtually all brain neurotransmission seems to be affected, making it difficult to define which of the systems contributes the most to the transition from controlled to compulsive alcohol use. However, compulsive alcohol drinking is characterized by a decrease in the function of the reward neurocircuitry and a recruitment of antireward/stress mechanisms comes into place, with a hypertrophic corticotropin-releasing factor system and a hyperfunctional glutamatergic system being the most important ones. PMID:18311194

Adolescent offspring of alcoholics have been found to have higher alcohol reinforcement expectancies than do teenagers from nonalcoholic families. In particular, those with a positive family history of alcoholism expect more cognitive and motor enhancement with alcohol consumption. This study examined the alcohol expectancies of 58 matched pairs…

An accidental poisoning due to drinking methyl alcohol in Chaoyang county is reported, analysing the accident. The poison came from the "retail white spirit" which was contaminated with methyl alcohol. Twenty-nine persons drank the wine, fourteen of them died, two of them became blind. After drinking this "retail white spirit" the drinkers showed symptoms of vertigo, headache, weakness, vomiting, night sweat, dyspnea and blurring of vision etc. within 6-120 hours. On examining the remaining spirit, we found the content of methyl alcohol to be between 16.6 and 40.69 g/100 ml. Some of the patients' urine and blood also contained methyl alcohol. We reckoned that each one of the twenty patients had taken more than 27 g of methyl alcohol and each of the ten dead drank more than 40 ml of the alcohol. PMID:2253526

Problematic use of alcohol configures an element of interest in the context of preventive interventions aimed to ensuring the performance of any work in safety conditions. To contrast the acute alcohol abuse in the workplace the existing legislation provides alcoholimeters controls and prohibition of recruitment and administration of alcohol. Recent legislation (D.Lgs. 81/08) establishes health surveillance for alcohol dependence and appears still incomplete and difficult to apply. Clinical diagnostic tools available to the physician for alcohol dependence identification are well-defined and recently improved thanks to new laboratory markers with high sensitivity and specificity (CDT) and self-administered questionnaires. In this contest we are awaiting for legislative action to specify conditions and procedures for inspections in the workplace in order to face the problem of alcohol dependence without excessive bureaucracy and with more attention to preventive aspects. PMID:21438261

Alcoholic liver disease is one of the most prevalent liver diseases worldwide, and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Alcoholic hepatitis is a severe form of liver injury in patients with alcohol abuse, can present as an acute on chronic liver failure associated with a rapid decline in liver synthetic function, and consequent increase in mortality. Despite therapy, about 30%–50% of patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis eventually die. The pathogenic pathways that lead to the development of alcoholic hepatitis are complex and involve oxidative stress, gut dysbiosis, and dysregulation of the innate and adaptive immune system with injury to the parenchymal cells and activation of hepatic stellate cells. As accepted treatment approaches are currently limited, a better understanding of the pathophysiology would be required to generate new approaches that improve outcomes. This review focuses on recent advances in the diagnosis, pathogenesis of alcoholic hepatitis and novel treatment strategies. PMID:26540078

The excess consumption of alcohol is associated with alcoholic liver diseases (ALD). ALD is a major healthcare problem, personal and social burden, and significant reason for economic loss worldwide. The ALD spectrum includes alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. The diagnosis of ALD is based on a combination of clinical features, including a history of significant alcohol intake, evidence of liver disease, and laboratory findings. Abstinence is the most important treatment for ALD and the treatment plan varies according to the stage of the disease. Various treatments including abstinence, nutritional therapy, pharmacological therapy, psychotherapy, and surgery are currently available. For severe alcoholic hepatitis, corticosteroid or pentoxifylline are recommended based on the guidelines. In addition, new therapeutic targets are being under investigation. PMID:25278689

Diagnosis of alcoholism is very important, given its high prevalence and possibility of influencing the disease course. For this reason, the so-called biological markers of alcoholism are useful. These are analytic parameters that alter in the presence of excessive alcohol consumption. The two most relevant markers are the gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and carbohydrate deficient transferrin. With this clinical comment, we aim to contribute to the knowledge of these tests and promote its use in the clinical practice. PMID:16194480

Objective To examine attendance at alcohol-service and alcohol-free parties among college students, and to compare alcohol consumption on nights of these parties. Method A random sample of 556 students (38.6% male) completed a web survey that measured past-semester alcohol use, alcohol-service party attendance, alcohol-free party attendance, and alcohol consumed on the nights of recent parties. Results Participants were twice as likely to attend alcohol-service parties as they were to attend alcohol-free parties (90% vs. 44%). First-year students and Black students were more likely than other students to attend alcohol-free parties. Alcohol use was higher in students who attended alcohol-service parties but there were no differences in levels of alcohol use between students who attended alcohol-free parties and those who did not. Pre-gaming was more prevalent, but number of drinks and intoxication were lower on nights of alcohol-free parties than on nights of alcohol-service parties. Conclusions The lack of association between attendance at alcohol-free parties and alcohol use indicates both heavy and light drinkers attend these parties. The lower drinking and intoxication on alcohol-free party nights suggests alcohol-free programming should be investigated to determine if it may reduce alcohol use on college campuses. PMID:20188482

This paper focuses on shedding light on three aspects--or faces--of alcoholism. The paper, in an interview format, presents the perspectives of the recovering alcoholic, a mother of the recovering alcoholic, and the adult child of an alcoholic. It also provides brief medical definitions of the various types of alcoholism. The paper points out that…

... What are fetal alcohol spectrum disorders? • What is fetal alcohol syndrome? • What amounts of alcohol can cause FAS? • Is ... disabilities that can last a lifetime. What is fetal alcohol syndrome? Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most severe ...

In the Northern Plains of the United States, 100% of Indian reservations are affected by alcohol related problems. Approximately 90% of Native American adults are currently alcohol users or abusers or are recovering from alcohol abuse. Alcohol consumption has a devastating effect on the unborn. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is an irreversible birth…

Alcohol abuse has numerous adverse health and social consequences. The consumer response to changes in alcohol affordability is an important issue on alcohol policy debates. Studies from many countries have shown an inverse relationship between alcohol prices and alcohol consumption in the population. There are, however, suggestions that increasing the price of alcohol by rising taxes may have limited effect on alcohol-related problems, associated with long-term heavy drinking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between alcohol affordability and alcohol-related mortality rates in post-Soviet Belarus. For this purpose trends in alcohol-related mortality rates (mortality from liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, alcoholism and alcohol psychoses) and affordability of vodka between 1990 and 2010 were compared. The time series analysis revealed that 1% increase in vodka affordability is associated with an increase in liver cirrhosis mortality of 0,77%, an increase in pancreatitis mortality of 0.53%, an increase in mortality from alcoholism and alcohol psychoses of 0,70%. The major conclusion emerging from this study is that affordability of alcohol is one of the most important predictor of alcohol-related problems in a population. These findings provide additional evidence that decreasing in affordability of alcohol is an effective strategy for reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. PMID:23748944

Conservative estimates of sexual assault prevalence suggest that 25 percent of American women have experienced sexual assault, including rape. Approximately one-half of those cases involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator, victim, or both. Alcohol contributes to sexual assault through multiple pathways, often exacerbating existing risk factors. Beliefs about alcohol’s effects on sexual and aggressive behavior, stereotypes about drinking women, and alcohol’s effects on cognitive and motor skills contribute to alcohol-involved sexual assault. Despite advances in researchers’ understanding of the relationships between alcohol consumption and sexual assault, many questions still need to be addressed in future studies. PMID:11496965

Alcohol is a potent somnogen and one of the most commonly used “over the counter” sleep aids. In healthy non-alcoholics, acute alcohol decreases sleep latency, consolidates and increases the quality (delta power) and quantity of NREM sleep during the first half of the night. However, sleep is disrupted during the second half. Alcoholics, both during drinking periods and during abstinences, suffer from a multitude of sleep disruptions manifested by profound insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, and altered sleep architecture. Furthermore, subjective and objective indicators of sleep disturbances are predictors of relapse. Finally, within the USA, it is estimated that societal costs of alcohol-related sleep disorders exceeds $18 billion. Thus, although alcohol-associated sleep problems have significant economic and clinical consequences, very little is known about how and where alcohol acts to affect sleep. In this review, we have described our attempts to understand how and where alcohol acts to affect sleep. We have conducted a series of experiments using two different species, rats and mice, as animal models, and a combination of multi-disciplinary experimental methodologies to examine and understand anatomical and cellular substrates mediating the effects of acute and chronic alcohol exposure on sleep-wakefulness. The results of our studies suggest that the sleep-promoting effects of alcohol may be mediated via alcohol’s action on the mediators of sleep homeostasis: adenosine (AD) and the wake-promoting cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain (BF). Alcohol, via its action on AD uptake, increases extracellular AD resulting in the inhibition of BF wake-promoting neurons. Lesions of the BF cholinergic neurons or blockade of AD A1 receptors results in attenuation of alcohol-induced sleep promotion, suggesting that AD and BF cholinergic neurons are critical for sleep-promoting effects of alcohol. Since binge alcohol consumption is a highly prevalent pattern

Alcohol abuse has been associated with an increased mortality and morbidity due to increased aspiration, delirium tremens, and seizures. The association of pneumococcal lung infections and leukopenia in the setting of alcohol abuse are rarely reported; however, when present, severe lung infections can happen with severe lung injury and poor response to conventional therapy and ultimately, death. We are reporting a case of 55-year-old-man presented with shortness of breath, cough and altered mental status and eventually found with severe pneumococcal lung infection in the setting of leukopenia and long-term alcohol abuse representing alcoholic leukopenic pneumococcal sepsis syndrome. PMID:23930244

An overusing and an addiction to alcoholic drinks are important problems in a medical society. The studies made in the United States had documented that about 8-12% doctors were addicted to alcohol. In many cases the doctors are able to keep their problem as a secret and their activity is satisfied up to the moment when a decrease is noticed. Some factors--such as a high level of stress--predispose doctors to alcoholic problems especially surgeons. Alcohol problems should be identified as early as possible, and therapy ought to be given as well. There is no reason to hide the problem. PMID:19025048

The direct toxic effect of alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde has been demonstrated both in laboratory animals and in humans. Alterations in the mitochondrial ultrastructure and the dilatation of the sarcoplasmatic reticulum have been shown after an acute infusion of alcohol in the heart. These changes correlate with decreased mitochondrial function, defects in protein synthesis and the occurrence of arrhythmias. The risk of developing alcoholic cardiomyopathy is related to both the mean daily alcohol intake and the duration of drinking, but there is much individual susceptibility to the toxic effect of alcohol. Most patients, in whom alcoholic cardiomyopathy develops, have been drinking over 80 g/d for more than 5 years. The clinical diagnosis of alcoholic cardiomyopathy reflects the coexistence of global myocardial dysfunction in a heavy drinker in whom no other cause for myocardial disease was found. In studies focussing on alcoholic cardiomyopathy the surprising histologic findings in endomyocardial biopsy in about 30% of all cases was myocarditis with a lymphocytic infiltrate in association with myocyte degeneration or focal necrosis. In myocarditis, the network of microtubules and intermediate filaments is also disrupted by the inflammatory reaction which involves resident cells (myocytes, fibroblasts, endothel cells) and systemic cells (granulocytes, macrophages, monocytes, lymphocytes). Changes in the cardiac cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix may affect contractile function, since the cytoskeleton organizes the intra- and intercellular architecture. After all, in patients with alcohol abuse and myocarditis the immune functioning appears to be compromised. Several studies suggest that heavy drinking alters both lymphocyte and granulocyte production and function. Alcohol consumption per se might harm the immune system. Furthermore, the myocardial damage due to alcohol consumption could initiate autoreactive mechanisms comparable to those in viral

Increased constraints on access to alcohol resulted from the closure of the sole hotels in two "experimental" towns. This afforded a natural experiment to study the effects of the change in availability of alcohol on consumption. Dependent measures were derived from public records of liquor sales by all licensed premises, and from computerized…

... weight gain in a couple of ways. First, alcohol is high in calories. Some mixed drinks can contain as many calories as a meal, but without the nutrients. You also may make poor food choices ... to cut out all alcohol if you are trying to lose weight, you ...

... in the tube change colors (from yellow to green), depending on the alcohol content. Carefully read the ... When 1 band is green, it means that the blood-alcohol level is 0.05% or lower. 2 green bands mean levels of 0.05% ...

Alcohol misuse remains the single most important contributing factor to road accident deaths and injuries in Australia. The results of compulsory blood alcohol tests on road casualties have shown that probationary licensed drivers have a threefold increased risk of road accident injury compared to fully licensed drivers and are additionally over-represented in alcohol-related crashes. These findings led the Victorian Road Trauma Committee to campaign for a zero blood alcohol limit for learner and probationary drivers and motorcyclists. In May 1984, zero blood alcohol legislation was enacted in Victoria. The present legislation applies to learner and first year probationary licence holders. For the first time we have evidence of a moderate reduction in alcohol-related road trauma in Victoria. Between 1977 and 1983 there has been a significant reduction in the proportion of driver casualties admitted to hospital with illegal blood alcohol concentrations and in the number of driver fatalities with blood alcohol concentrations in excess of 0.15 g%. An evaluation of the following recommended drink driver countermeasures is presented: improved driver education, increased penalties, re-education--rehabilitation programmes for convicted drink drivers, interlock devices and an increase in the legal drinking age. PMID:3461765

Gorski describes "abstinence plus a full return to biopsychosocial functioning as the indicator of successful recovery," and "relapse ... as the process of becoming dysfunctional in recovery." Occupational therapy supports a biopsychosocial premise in assisting the alcoholic to establish a sober lifestyle for recovery as a part of treatment. Adolph Meyer said, "If the goal of alcoholism treatment is abstinence, then the alcoholic patient must be instructed and guided to organize his time and build up habits of work and leisure which are free of alcohol." In order to attain satisfaction in recovery, the alcoholic must develop a balanced lifestyle. This balanced lifestyle will be for competent role performance in all roles. Sobriety can restore something the alcoholic has lost. The alcoholic can be a contributing member of society; have feelings of self respect; participate in relationships with family, friends, and coworkers; and return to work, social, and leisure environments. Zackon identified lifestyle rehabilitation as the second track of recovery. He also listed the key tasks of secondary recovery as deaddiction, learning new pleasures, social integration, and creating new goals. It is in these key tasks that occupational therapy can provide significant input and feedback to the alcoholic. PMID:2658155

Acute alcohol intoxication causes cellular changes in the brain that last for hours, while chronic alcohol use induces widespread neuroadaptations in the nervous system that can last a lifetime. Chronic alcohol use and the progression into dependence involve the remodeling of synapses caused by changes in gene expression produced by alcohol. The progression of alcohol use, abuse, and dependence can be divided into stages, which include intoxication, withdrawal, and craving. Each stage is associated with specific changes in gene expression, cellular function, brain circuits, and ultimately behavior. What are the molecular mechanisms underlying the transition from recreational use (acute) to dependence (chronic)? What cellular adaptations result in drug memory retention, leading to the persistence of addictive behaviors, even after prolonged drug abstinence? Research into the neurobiology of alcoholism aims to answer these questions. This chapter will describe the molecular adaptations caused by alcohol use and dependence, and will outline key neurochemical participants in alcoholism at the molecular level, which are also potential targets for therapy. PMID:25307570

Fetal alcohol syndrome is growth, mental, and physical problems that may occur in a baby when a mother drinks ... A baby with fetal alcohol syndrome may have the following symptoms: Poor growth while the baby is in the womb and after birth Decreased muscle ...

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a pattern of altered growth and morphogenesis found in about half the offspring of severely and chronically alcoholic women who continue drinking throughout their pregnancy. Of children studied, mild to moderate mental retardation was the most common disorder, occurring in 44 percent of the cases. (PHR)

The paper reviews Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a series of effects seen in children whose mothers drink alcohol to excess during pregnancy. The identification of FAS and its recognition as a major health problem in need of prevention are traced. Characteristics of children with FAS are described and resultant growth retardation, abnormal physical…

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a serious and widespread problem in this country. Positioned within the community with links to children, families, and healthcare systems, school nurses are a critical element in the prevention and treatment of those affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Although most school nurses are familiar…

Alcoholism etiology is discussed from developmental behavior genetic perspective. Temperament features that appear to be associated with heightened risk for alcoholism are examined. Their interactions with the environment during course of development are considered within epigenetic framework and, as discussed, have ramifications for improving…

The effects of alcohol on the heart include modification of the risk of coronary artery disease, the development of alcoholic cardiomyopathy, exacerbation of conduction disorders, atrial and ventricular dysrhythmias, and an increased risk of hypertension, hemorrhagic stroke, infectious endocarditis, and fetal heart abnormalities. PMID:2686174

While it has been steadily declining since the 1960s, though at a slower pace over the last 5 years, the average alcohol consumption per capita and per year in France remains one of the highest in Europe. The available general population surveys reveal that the most visible change is the type of alcohol abuse. Two emerging trends have been observed over the last ten years, and seem to be worsening: the transfer from daily drinking to weekend drinking, and the increase in isolated risk-taking related to acute alcoholization associated with more-or-less conscious inebriation episodes. These changes require adapting prevention messages, the development of alcohol risk screening strategies in emergency units and the assessment of therapeutic programs aiming at reducing the risks of alcohol consumption rather than maintaining abstinence. PMID:22288346

... HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Notice... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Initial Review... Review Officer, National Institute ] on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health,...

... HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Notice... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Special Emphasis... Officer, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, 5635...

... HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Notice... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Special Emphasis... Officer, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Office of Extramural Activities,...

... HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Notice... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Special Emphasis... Extramural Activities, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism,...

... HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Notice... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Special Emphasis..., Extramural Project Review Branch, EPRB, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,...

The heterogeneity of alcoholic populations may be one reason that few specific therapeutic approaches to the treatment of alcoholism have been consistently demonstrated to improve treatment outome across studies. To individualize alcoholism treatment, dimensions which are linked to drinking or relapse and along which alcoholics display significant…

Examined evidence for the alleged failure of alcohol education to prevent alcohol problems among children and adolescents. Concluded that there is need for investigations of the effectiveness of alcohol education. Recommendations regarding methodological characteristics of an adequate test of effectiveness of alcohol education were presented and…

Unhealthy alcohol use is common and routine screening is essential to identify patients and initiate appropriate treatment. At-risk or hazardous drinking is best managed with brief interventions, which can be performed by any provider and are designed to enhance patients' motivations and promote behavioral change. Alcohol withdrawal can be managed, preferably with benzodiazepines, using a symptom-triggered approach. Twelve-step programs and provider-driven behavioral therapies have robust data supporting their effectiveness and patients with alcohol use disorder should be referred for these services. Research now support the use of several FDA-approved medications that aid in promoting abstinence and reducing heavy drinking. PMID:27373607

Alcohol induces a variety of changes in the liver: fatty change, hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. The histopathological appearances of these conditions are discussed, with special attention to differential diagnosis. Many forms of alcoholic liver disease are associated with Mallory body formation and fibrosis. Mallory bodies are formed, at least in part, from intermediate filaments. Associated changes in intermediate filament organisation in alcoholic liver disease also occur. Their significance in the pathogenesis of hepatocyte death may be related to abnormalities in messenger RNA function. The mechanisms underlying hepatic fibrogenesis are also discussed. Images PMID:6086722

Alcohol-related harm constitutes a significant factor decreasing work productivity. Of heavy alcohol users, most participate in working life. According to labour contract law, a person attending the workplace inebriated can be fired. If the employer applies a deferral to treatment practice, the drug- or alcohol-addicted person can be provided with the choice of therapy and rehabilitation instead of terminating the employment. According to the recent recommendation by the trade unions, organizations should have a program for preventing substance abuse. The employer should take care of the worker's intoxicant education and train the foremen to intervene in the situations on time. PMID:19492706

The authors examined problem-solving marital interactions of alcoholic and nonalcoholic couples (N = 132). Four alcoholic groups (husband alcoholic with antisocial personality disorder or not, paired with alcoholic or nonalcoholic wives) were compared with each other and with a both-spouses-nonalcoholic group. Consistent with the alcoholic subtypes hypothesis, couples with an antisocial alcoholic husband had higher levels of hostile behavior regardless of wives’ alcoholism status. In contrast, rates of positive behaviors and the ratio of positive to negative behaviors were greatest among couples in which either both or neither of the spouses had alcoholic diagnoses and were lowest among alcoholic husbands with nonalcoholic wives. Discussion focuses on possible mechanisms linking antisocial alcoholism and discrepant alcoholic diagnoses to poorer marital outcomes. PMID:16492103

Discusses the problem of alcohol use and abuse by camp staff. Describes alcohol policies of two different camps. Camp Highlands allows responsible drinking but not intoxication. Camp Olympia requires total abstinence from alcohol. A policy that clearly expresses the camp's philosophy toward alcohol and spells out all expectations and results is…

Several theories of the alcoholic personality have been devised to determine the relationship between the clusters of personality characteristics of alcoholics and their abuse of alcohol. The oldest and probably best known theory is the dependency theory, formulated in the tradition of classical psychoanalysis, which associates the alcoholic's…

State and local alcohol policies can minimize opportunities for people to use alcohol, thereby reducing consumption and alcohol-related problems. Little is known, however, about the prevalence of campus policies aimed at reducing college students' alcohol use and related problems. The authors surveyed school administrators in Minnesota and…

This paper discusses research findings about 2 sources of violent death associated with alcohol -- suicide and homicide. After depression, alcoholism is the 2nd most common psychiatric diagnosis among suicide victims. Suicide attempters also are frequently alcoholic. The association between alcoholism and suicide, however, may only apply to white…

... be a combination of a person's: Genes Environment Psychology, such as being impulsive or having low self- ... using alcohol. This is called abstinence. Having strong social and family support can help make it easier ...

... drink other beverages instead, such as water, fruit juices or milk. Questions to Ask Your Doctor If your baby was born with fetal alcohol syndrome: What health problems does my baby have? Does my baby ...

... tension-type headache. Cluster headache patients have higher alcohol sensitivity (about 50-80%). In a forward-looking study (PAMINA) published in 2007 Austrian researchers examined a large number of factors related to ...

A 55-year-old man was admitted for a femur fracture; an alcohol fetor was noted on admission. The following day, the patient began to experience tremors and nervousness. Intravenous haloperidol was administered. Shortly afterwards, the patient experienced two generalized seizures and then began to experience delirium and uncontrollable agitation. The patient was diagnosed with alcohol withdrawal syndrome; high doses of intravenous midazolam were prescribed and infused. A few hours later, the patient presented signs of respiratory depression, requiring a transfer to the intensive care unit. After a review of the medical history, it was determined that the patient had been admitted on 3 previous occasions due to alcohol withdrawal and had progressed to delirium tremens after experiencing seizures. Can the risk of alcohol withdrawal syndrome and the need for prophylactic treatment be assessed on admission? Were appropriate monitoring and treatment measures employed? Would it have been possible to change his outcome? PMID:25559647

Educational programs about alcohol should be presented in the formal school setting for Indian youth and in the communities for the general population. The primary outcome of these programs would be the development of self-management skills. (Author)

... want to watch how much you drink. Cocktails mixed with soda, cream, or ice cream can have especially high calorie counts. If you find you are having trouble cutting back on alcohol , talk with your doctor. Here is a list ...

... that a non-drinker with hepatitis C has. Alcohol and hepatitis C both damage the liver, so together, the risk of serious liver damage (cirrhosis) is much higher than with either alone. < Previous Living with Hepatitis ...

With the exception of cardiovascular diseases, no other medical condition causes more serious dysfunction or premature deaths than alcohol-related problems. Research results indicate that alcohol dependent individuals present an exceptionally poor level of quality of life. This is an outcome that highlights the necessity of planning and implementing preventive interventions on biological, psychological or social level, to be provided to individuals who make alcohol abuse, as well as to their families. Preventive interventions can be considered on three levels of prevention: (a) primary prevention, which is focused on the protection of healthy individuals from alcohol abuse and dependence, and may be provided on a universal, selective or indicated level, (b) secondary prevention, which aims at the prevention of deterioration regarding alcoholic dependence and relapse, in the cases of individuals already diagnosed with the condition and (c) tertiary prevention, which is focused at minimizing deterioration of functioning in chronically sufferers from alcoholic dependence. The term "quaternary prevention" can be used for the prevention of relapse. As for primary prevention, interventions focus on assessing the risk of falling into problematic use, enhancing protective factors and providing information and health education in general. These interventions can be delivered in schools or in places of work and recreation for young people. In this context, various programs have been applied in different countries, including Greece with positive results (Preventure, Alcolocks, LST, SFP, Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device). Secondary prevention includes counseling and structured help with the delivery of programs in schools and in high risk groups for alcohol dependence (SAP, LST). These programs aim at the development of alcohol refusal skills and behaviors, the adoption of models of behaviors resisting alcohol use, as well as reinforcement of general social skills. In the

Presents a novel approach to identification of unknown alcohols using experimental measurements of boiling point and viscosity which are easily obtained without expensive equipment of instrumentation. Provides instructions for preparing capillary viscometer, listing special hints for obtaining good results. (JM)

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a specific heart muscle disease found in individuals with a history of long-term heavy alcohol consumption. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is associated with a number of adverse histological, cellular, and structural changes within the myocardium. Several mechanisms are implicated in mediating the adverse effects of ethanol, including the generation of oxidative stress, apoptotic cell death, impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics/stress, derangements in fatty acid metabolism and transport, and accelerated protein catabolism. In this review, we discuss the evidence for such mechanisms and present the potential importance of drinking patterns, genetic susceptibility, nutritional factors, race, and sex. The purpose of this review is to provide a mechanistic paradigm for future research in the area of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. PMID:24671642

... time to break down the alcohol in your system. The caffeine in coffee may help you stay awake. However, it will not improve your coordination or decision-making skills. These can be impaired for several hours ...

... to a range of acute consequences, including injuries, sexual assaults, and even deaths—including those from car crashes. ... of 18 and 24 report experiencing alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. 28 Roughly 20 percent of ...

Using a range of electrophysiological techniques, it has been possible to demonstrate impaired function in smaller calibre motor fibres and in distal large cutaneous sensory nerve fibres in both alcoholic patients without neuropathy and in those alcoholics with clinical manifestations of peripheral nerve disease. Evidence of more proximal involvement of Ia sensory fibres was obtained, but in the majority of our patients, large motor fibres functioned normally. The nature of the underlying pathological process is discussed. Images PMID:4338445

Exposure to stress often is psychologically distressing. The impact of stress on alcohol use and the risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) depends on the type, timing during the life course, duration, and severity of the stress experienced. Four important categories of stressors that can influence alcohol consumption are general life stress, catastrophic/fateful stress, childhood maltreatment, and minority stress. General life stressors, including divorce and job loss, increase the risk for AUDs. Exposure to terrorism or other disasters causes population-level increases in overall alcohol consumption but little increase in the incidence of AUDs. However, individuals with a history of AUDs are more likely to drink to cope with the traumatic event. Early onset of drinking in adolescence, as well as adult AUDs, are more common among people who experience childhood maltreatment. Finally, both perceptions and objective indicators of discrimination are associated with alcohol use and AUDs among racial/ethnic and sexual minorities. These observations demonstrate that exposure to stress in many forms is related to subsequent alcohol consumption and AUDs. However, many areas of this research remain to be studied, including greater attention to the role of various stressors in the course of AUDs and potential risk moderators when individuals are exposed to stressors. PMID:23584105

Chronic alcohol consumption results in structural changes to the brain. In alcoholics without coexisting thiamine deficiency or liver disease this is largely restricted to a loss of white-matter volume. When it occurs, neuronal loss is limited in anatomic distribution and only detected with quantitative techniques. This relative paucity of neurodegeneration is reflected in studies of gene and protein expression in postmortem brain where findings are subtle and discordant between studies. In alcoholics with coexisting pathologies, neuronal loss is more marked and affects a wider range of anatomic regions, especially subcortical nuclei. Although this more widespread damage may reflect a more severe drinking history, there is evidence linking thiamine deficiency and the consequences of liver disease to the pathogenesis of alcohol-related brain damage. Furthermore, a range of other factors, such as cigarette smoking and mood disorders, that are common in alcoholics, have the potential to influence studies of brain pathology and should be considered in further studies of the neuropathology of alcoholism. PMID:25307599

Mounting evidence over the last 40 years clearly indicates that alcoholism (alcohol dependence) is a disorder of the brain. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has taken significant steps to advance research into the neuroscience of alcohol. The Division of Neuroscience and Behavior (DNB) was formed within NIAAA in 2002 to oversee, fund, and direct all research areas that examine the effects of alcohol on the brain, the genetic underpinnings of alcohol dependence, the neuroadaptations resulting from excessive alcohol consumption, advanced behavioral models of the various stages of the addiction cycle, and preclinical medications development. This research portfolio has produced important discoveries in the etiology, treatment, and prevention of alcohol abuse and dependence. Several of these salient discoveries are highlighted and future areas of neuroscience research on alcohol are presented. PMID:25307566

A case-control study of 149 intentionally self-inflicted gun injury cases (including completed gun suicides) and 302 population-based controls was conducted from 2003 to 2006 in a major US city. Two focal independent variables, acute alcohol consumption and alcohol outlet availability, were measured. Conditional logistic regression was adjusted for confounding variables. Gun suicide risk to individuals in areas of high alcohol outlet availability was less than the gun suicide risk they incurred from acute alcohol consumption, especially to excess. This corroborates prior work but also uncovers new information about the relationships between acute alcohol consumption, alcohol outlets, and gun suicide. Study limitations and implications are discussed. PMID:21929327

Women alcoholics seeking psychiatric help have been increasing steadily over the years. The data on this subgroup however, is limited. Eighteen women alcoholics who presented to us over one year have been compared to twenty-eight men alcoholics who presented to us over one calendar month. Gender differences in the functions and effects of problem drinking were found. Men and women alcoholics differed in marital and occupational status, initiating and maintaining factors for drinking, course of alcoholism and alcohol related damage. PMID:21584094

A case–control study of 149 intentionally self-inflicted gun injury cases (including completed gun suicides) and 302 population-based controls was conducted from 2003 to 2006 in a major US city. Two focal independent variables, acute alcohol consumption and alcohol outlet availability, were measured. Conditional logistic regression was adjusted for confounding variables. Gun suicide risk to individuals in areas of high alcohol outlet availability was less than the gun suicide risk they incurred from acute alcohol consumption, especially to excess. This corroborates prior work but also uncovers new information about the relationships between acute alcohol consumption, alcohol outlets, and gun suicide. Study limitations and implications are discussed. PMID:21929327

Alcohol-specific communication, a direct conversation between an adult and an adolescent regarding alcohol use, contains messages about alcohol relayed from the adult to the child. The current study examined the construct of alcohol-specific communication and the effect of messages on adolescent alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. Parent-adolescent dyads were assessed biannually for 3 years (grades 9-11 at wave 6) to examine these relations in a large longitudinal study of adolescents initially in grades 6 through 8. An exploratory factor analysis identified two factors among alcohol-specific communication items, permissive messages and negative alcohol messages. Results showed previous level of adolescent alcohol use moderated the relation between permissive messages and alcohol use outcomes. Plotting of these interactions showed greater alcohol use and consequences with increasing permissive messages in adolescents with higher versus lower levels of previous alcohol use. Results suggest that parental messages regarding alcohol use may impact adolescent alcohol use beyond the effect of general parenting style and parental alcohol use. PMID:21667141

OBJECTIVE: This study used prospective data to test the hypothesis that exposure to alcohol advertising contributes to an increase in underage drinking and that an increase in underage drinking then leads to problems associated with drinking alcohol. METHODS: A total of 3890 students were surveyed once per year across 4 years from the 7th through the 10th grades. Assessments included several measures of exposure to alcohol advertising, alcohol use, problems related to alcohol use, and a range of covariates, such as age, drinking by peers, drinking by close adults, playing sports, general TV watching, acculturation, parents’ jobs, and parents’ education. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling of alcohol consumption showed that exposure to alcohol ads and/or liking of those ads in seventh grade were predictive of the latent growth factors for alcohol use (past 30 days and past 6 months) after controlling for covariates. In addition, there was a significant total effect for boys and a significant mediated effect for girls of exposure to alcohol ads and liking of those ads in 7th grade through latent growth factors for alcohol use on alcohol-related problems in 10th grade. CONCLUSIONS: Younger adolescents appear to be susceptible to the persuasive messages contained in alcohol commercials broadcast on TV, which sometimes results in a positive affective reaction to the ads. Alcohol ad exposure and the affective reaction to those ads influence some youth to drink more and experience drinking-related problems later in adolescence. PMID:23359585

Alcohol is a porphyrinogenic agent which may cause disturbances in porphyrin metabolism in healthy persons as well as biochemical and clinical manifestations of acute and chronic hepatic porphyrias. After excessive consumption of alcohol, a temporary, clinically asymptomatic secondary hepatic coproporphyrinuria is observable, which can become persistent in cases of alcohol-induced liver damage. Nowadays, the alcohol-liver-porphyrinuria syndrome is the first to be mentioned in secondary hepatic disturbances of porphyrin metabolism. Acute hepatic porphyrias (acute intermittent porphyria, variegate porphyria and hereditary coproporphyria) are considered to be molecular regulatory diseases, in contrast to non-acute, chronic hepatic porphyria, clinically appearing as porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). Porphyrins do not accumulate in the liver in acute porphyrias, whereas in chronic hepatic porphyrias they do. Thus, chronic hepatic porphyria is a porphyrin-accumulation disease, whereas acute hepatic porphyrias are haem-pathway-dysregulation diseases, characterized in general by induction of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase in the liver and excessive stimulation of the pathway without storage of porphyrins in the liver. The clinical expression of acute hepatic porphyrias can be triggered by alcohol, because alcohol augments the inducibility of delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase. In chronic hepatic porphyrias, however, which are already associated with liver damage, alcohol potentiates the disturbance of the decarboxylation of uro- and heptacarboxyporphyrinogen, which is followed by a hepatic accumulation of uro- and heptacarboxyporphyrin and their sometimes extreme urinary excretion. Especially in persons with a genetic deficiency of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase, but also in patients with the so-called sporadic variety of PCT, alcohol is able to transform an asymptomatic coproporphyrinuria into PCT. Alcohol has many biochemical and clinical effects on porphyrin and haem

Liver disease from excessive alcohol consumption is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a clear relationship between alcohol and a variety of health and socioeconomic problems. According to the World Health Organization, 3.3 million people die of alcohol-related causes annually. Despite public knowledge of its potential adverse effects, alcohol consumption and the morbidity and mortality from alcoholic liver disease (ALD) have increased. ALD comprises a spectrum of injury, including simple steatosis, acute alcoholic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. Rather than being distinct disease entities, these pathologic processes frequently overlap. PMID:27373606

This is the first in-depth study of alcohol and surrogate drinking patterns, types, reasons, and correlates among alcohol-dependent women in Belarus. The structured interviews were performed in 2013 with 103 alcohol-dependent women admitted to a narcological clinic in Grodno, Belarus. The results suggest that at least 30.3% of alcohol-dependent women regularly consume samogon (moonshine) and 10.8% of women use surrogates, the most popular among which are medications with a high percentage of ethanol and industrial spirits. The belief that samogon exceeds licensed vodka in quality is the main motive for its consumption. The results from the present study confirm that noncommercial alcohol use is common among alcohol-dependent women although its use may be underreported. These findings emphasize that the implementation of a comprehensive alcohol policy must take fully into account the consumption of alcohol from illicit sources. PMID:26549001

Economic research has contributed to the evaluation of alcohol policy through empirical analysis of the effects of alcohol-control measures on alcohol consumption and its consequences. It has also provided an accounting framework for defining and comparing costs and benefits of alcohol consumption and related policy interventions, including excise taxes. The most important finding from the economics literature is that consumers tend to drink less ethanol, and have fewer alcohol-related problems, when alcoholic beverage prices are increased or alcohol availability is restricted. That set of findings is relevant for policy purposes because alcohol abuse imposes large "external" costs on others. Important challenges remain, including developing a better understanding of the effects of drinking on labor-market productivity. PMID:11900152

... HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Notice... personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Special Emphasis Panel; Review of Applications on HIV- AIDS/Alcohol Comparative Effectiveness & Implementation...

Recent preclinical and clinical evidence using prazosin indicates that a1-blockade may represent a new approach to treat alcohol dependence (AD). While most of the alcohol research on a1-blockade has been conducted testing prazosin, O’Neil and colleagues recently performed a set of preclinical experiments testing another a1-blocker, i.e. doxazosin that has a longer half-life that may enhance clinical utility. Doxazosin and prazosin share the same chemical structure, in which the central element is a piperazine ring. O’Neil et al.’s main results are that doxazosin significantly reduced alcohol intake without affecting locomotor activity. As such, O’Neil and colleagues provide the first preclinical evidence of the possible role of doxazosin in AD. Additional translational research is needed to further test this hypothesis. PMID:23278505

Alcoholism is characterized by a lack of control over excessive alcohol consumption despite significant negative consequences. This impulsive and compulsive behavior may be related to functional abnormalities within networks of brain regions responsible for how we make decisions. The abnormalities may result in strengthened networks related to appetitive drive—or the need to fulfill desires—and simultaneously weakened networks that exercise control over behaviors. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in abstinent alcoholics suggest that abstinence is associated with changes in the tone of such networks, decreasing resting tone in appetitive drive networks, and increasing resting tone in inhibitory control networks to support continued abstinence. Identifying electroencephalographic (EEG) measures of resting tone in these networks initially identified using fMRI, and establishing in longitudinal studies that these abstinence-related changes in network tone are progressive would motivate treatment initiatives to facilitate these changes in network tone, thereby supporting successful ongoing abstinence. PMID:26259093

In 1983, Nei et al. reported that alcoholic chronic hepatitis (ACH)(chronic hepatitis induced tal area. Recently, the number of alcoholics patients diagnosed with ACH has been increased In this review, we discussed the characteristics of liver histopathology and blood chemistry of ACH patients. In ACH, pericellular fibrosis, ballooned hepatocytes and/or bridging fibrosis, and infiltration of mononuclear lymphocytes is decreased after 6 to 8 weeks of abstinence from results suggest that ACH could be one type of alcoholic liver disease. The precise mechanism by alcohol) as one type of alcoholic liver disease. Since then, it has been discussed whether alcohol abuse, suggesting that alcohol may play a role in the infiltration of mononuclear lym ACH is one type of alcoholic liver disease, because there could be infection of unknown hepatitis virus in alcoholics and it is not clear why mononuclear lymphocytes infiltrate into the porphocytes in portal region. After abstinence of alcohol, serum levels of AST, ALT, and γ-GTP in patients with ACH returned to normal as in other types of alcoholic liver disease such as alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic fibrosis, alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic liver cirrhosis. These results suggest that ACH could be one type of alcoholic liver disease. The precise mechanism of the infiltration of mononuclear lymphocytes into portal areas of ACH patients is not known. We propose that the reason for the infiltration of natural killer (T) cells into portal areas could be due to the influx of endotoxin into portal vein resulting from the increased permeability of gut induced by alcohol. PMID:25651616

Alcoholic liver disease continues to be a significant cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality throughout the world. A number of diagnostic and prognostic models have been developed in the management of this condition, although specific roles for liver biopsy still remain particularly in the setting of alcoholic hepatitis. Despite a large number of recent treatment trials, the ideal pharmacotherapy approach remains undefined. Most essential is the supportive care and focus on abstinence and nutrition. Owing in part to a great deal of attention from governmental funding sources, a number of new treatment approaches are undergoing rigorous evaluation, hopefully providing future treatment options in this very severe condition. PMID:26523266

An improved fermentation process for producing alcohol which includes the combination of vacuum fermentation and vacuum distillation. Preferably, the vacuum distillation is carried out in two phases, one a fermentor proper operated at atmospheric pressure and a flash phase operated at reduced pressure with recycle of fermentation brew having a reduced alcohol content to the fermentor, using vapor recompression heating of the flash-pot recycle stream to heat the flash-pot or the distillation step, and using "water load balancing" (i.e., the molar ratio of water in the fermentor feed is the same as the molar ratio of water in the distillation overhead).

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) causes great morbidity and mortality in the United States and throughout the world. Advances in therapy have proven difficult. In part, this reflects challenges in diagnosis, including the distinction between AH and acute-on-chronic liver failure. Liver biopsy is the best method to clarify the cause in circumstances whereby conflicting clinical data confound the diagnosis. All treatment of AH begins with abstinence from alcohol. All patients with AH should be given sufficient nutrition. Prednisolone has become the principal agent for treating patients with severe AH. PMID:27373613

Sugarbeets are a prime candidate for alcohol fuel production because they store their energy and much of their biomass as sucrose, a fermentable sugar. At the present time, it is uneconomical to produce alcohol from sugarbeets and the balance is marginal. A number of approaches could improve both the economic and the energy situation: 1) increasing production per acre; 2) reducing conversion costs; 3) integrating sugarbeet - sweet sorghum crops; and 4) utilizing low priority sources such as geothermal, coal, bagasse and solar for the energy of conversion.

Compared utility of two common alcohol nomograms on impacting decisions regarding drinking, driving after drinking, knowledge of relationship between personal alcohol consumption and the legal level of intoxication, and consumer evaluation measures, to utility of alcohol information warning card. Nomograms were no more effective than cards warning…

Of 154 female and 106 male adolescents, 76.3% had tried alcohol; more than 36% owned alcohol promotional clothing and more than half had seen such clothing at school. Ownership increased with alcohol use status. Those who received such clothing from their parents were more likely to perceive parental approval of their drinking. (Contains 59…

The purpose of this study was to compare with an alcohol information warning card the utility of two common alcohol nomograms (statistical information tables) in impacting decisions regarding drinking, driving after drinking, the development of knowledge of the relations between personal alcohol consumption and the legal level of intoxication, and…

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the leading cause of mental retardation, often goes unrecognized because of social and emotional taboos about alcohol and alcoholism. This article describes medical and behavioral characteristics of FAS children and describes guiding principles for educators, based on early intervention, teaching communication and…

Conducted in January 1977, the community survey examined alcohol abuse and alcoholism among Chicanos in the barrios. Data were obtained from 160 respondents (119 females and 41 males) from 3 geographic areas in San Antonio: the Special Impact Area of Casa Del Sol (an alcoholism program) and the cities of San Antonio and Alamo Heights. Information…

... a serious toll on your health. Here’s how alcohol can affect your body: Brain: Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These ...

A process for producing hydrogen from ethanol or other alcohols. The alcohol, optionally in combination with water, is contacted with a catalyst comprising rhodium. The overall process is preferably carried out under autothermal conditions.

... of Alcohol Abuse Alcohol interferes with a person's perception of reality and ability to make good decisions. ... drinking include: distorted vision, hearing, and coordination altered perceptions and emotions impaired judgment, which can lead to ...

New type of trifunctional alcohol was synthesized from commercially available trimer acid. Trifunctional alcohol is hydrocarbon with widely separated terminal hydroxyl groups, and was expressly developed as crosslinking agent for preparation of polyurethane propellants, binders and case liners.

After personal involvement as a group leader with alcoholics under treatment and their families, the author stresses the need for this type of counseling to educate family on alcoholism and to help dispel their prejudices. (Author/CJ)

The influence of alcohol intoxication on the retrieval of information from memory was investigated in nonalcoholic subjects Intoxicated subjects recalled fewer categories and words within categories. The retrieval stage of memory did not appear to be affected by alcohol. (SW)

The origin of the "proof" system for measuring the ethanol content of alcoholic beverages is presented. The proof system was originally established for purposes of taxing liquors according to their alcohol content and is different in different countries.

Beliefs about the consequences of using alcohol, alcohol expectancies, are powerful predictors of underage drinking. The Alcohol Expectancies Questionnaire-Adolescent form (AEQ-A) has been widely used to measure expectancies in youth. Despite its broad use, the factor structure of the AEQ-A has not been firmly established. It is also not known…

Alcohol, which is ubiquitous today, is a major health concern. Its use was already relatively high among the youngest respondents, peaked among young adults, and declined in older age groups. Alcohol is causally related to more than 60 different medical conditions. Overall, 4% of the global burden of disease is attributable to alcohol, which accounts for about as much death and disability globally as tobacco and hypertension. Alcohol also promotes the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or interferes with the body's normal defense mechanisms against these compounds through numerous processes, particularly in the liver. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a cell-specific effect of low intensity monochromatic light or low intensity laser irradiation (LIL) on biological systems. The cellular effects of both alcohol and LIL are ligand-independent so that PBM might rehabilitate alcohol induced dysfunction. The PBM on alcohol induced human neutrophil dysfunction and rat chronic atrophic gastritis, the laser acupuncture on alcohol addiction, and intravascular PBM on alcoholic coma of patients and rats have been observed. The endonasal PBM (EPBM) mediated by Yangming channel, autonomic nervous systems and blood cells is suggested to treat alcohol induced dysfunction in terms of EPBM phenomena, the mechanism of alcohol induced dysfunction and our biological information model of PBM. In our opinion, the therapeutic effects of PBM might also be achieved on alcoholic myopathy.

Alcoholism is a multifactorial condition. In addition to psychological and environmental factors, a hereditary factor is strongly suggested by recent genetic studies in twins, half-brothers and adopted children. The mode of transmission, however, remains largely conjectural. A protective mechanism might by hypersensitivity to alcohol due to different alcohol and acetaldehyde metabolism. PMID:7301553

Given the high rate of alcoholism in the United States, the question is pursued regarding the existence of a personality type in which the individual is predisposed toward alcoholism. It is concluded that the alcoholic personality may be characterized by certain predisposing traits "triggered" by specific environmental stresses. (Author)

The theme of this issue of a journal designed to focus on the prevention of various kinds of substance abuse is "children of alcoholics" (CoAs). The lead article, "Children of Chemical Dependency: Respecting Complexities and Building on Strengths," by Pamela Woll, examines chemically dependent family systems. The article begins by offering two…

Patterns of drinking are changing throughout the world and in many countries this will be detrimental to the health and welfare of the local population. Even uncomplicated alcoholics who have no specific neurological or hepatic problems show signs of regional brain damage and cognitive dysfunction. Many of these changes are exaggerated and other brain regions damaged in patients who have additional vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome). Quantitative neuropathology techniques and improvements in neuroimaging have contributed significantly to the documentation of these changes but mechanisms underlying the damage are not understood. A human brain bank targeting alcohol cases has been established in Sydney, Australia and provides fresh and frozen tissue for alcohol researchers. The tissues can be used to test hypotheses developed from structural neuropathological studies or from animal models and in vitro studies. Identification of reversible pathological changes and preventative medical approaches in alcoholism should enhance rehabilitation and treatment efforts, thereby mitigating debilitating morbidities and reducing mortality associated with this universal public health problem. PMID:17439928

... before having more alcohol. Make a Plan for Drinking The best way to control calories from drinking is to limit how much you drink. Before ... off on your wine glass. You can skip drinking altogether and volunteer to be the designated driver. ...

National Alcohol Survey (NAS) is designed to assess the trends in drinking practices and problems in the national population, including attitudes, norms, treatment and experiences and adverse consequences. It also studies the effects of public policy on drinking practices (i.e., ...

Excessive alcohol use is associated with health problems for the elderly in combination with their chronic conditions. One such complication, alcohol-related dementia (ARD) is brought about by direct or indirect ethanol intoxication, and coexisting nutritional deficiency, liver disease, cerebrovascular disease and traumatic brain injury. The elderly people with ARD have been underestimated and underdiagnosed. In these older alcoholics, atrophic changes, lacunar infarcts and deep white matter lesions of the brain are evident and are associated not only with their cognitive decline, but also with their frailty, leading to high morbidity and mortality ratio. Although lifelong abstinence can recover patients with ARD to temporally lull, aging, the severity of alcohol dependence, and the concomitant nutritional, physical and environmental factors can all impact negatively their outcome. Therefore, a comprehensive approach to lifestyle factors is recommended so that they can minimize preventable risks and maintain health status. Nursing home placement may be an appropriate treatment option for some refractory, long-term patients with ARD. PMID:24796110

... lice. Benzyl alcohol lotion will not kill lice eggs, so the medication must be used a second ... kill the lice that may hatch from these eggs. ... to remove the dead lice and nits (empty egg shells) after this treatment. You may also need ...

Expectant parents are introduced to the effects of a variety of drugs on the unborn baby. Material is divided into seven sections. Section 1 deals with the most frequently used recreational drugs, including alcohol, marijuana, narcotics, depressants, stimulants, inhalants, and hallucinogens. Sections 2 and 3 focus on the effects of prescription…

This paper examines the counseling of alcoholics in an effort to determine its value and significance. It includes a cursory look at the development, etiology and history of treatment methods and the role of personality theory. However, the main emphasis is on the different types of counseling used in each particular counseling setting. The…

... another health problem? Or after having had a memory blackout? Had to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want? Or found that your usual number of drinks had much less effect than before? Found that when the effects of alcohol were wearing off, you had withdrawal symptoms, such ...

Anion solvation is measured in alcohols using pump-probe pulse radiolysis and the activation energy of solvation is determined. Solvation of an anion appears to be different than excited state solvation. The continuum dielectric model does not appear to explain the results.

This teacher guide is part of a series of three interactive books on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana; three informational books containing parallel content; and three teacher guides designed to give students in grades five through eight practice in using the information and skills presented in the books. The guide provides teachers with a…

Recent price increases and temporary shortages of petroleum products have caused farmers to search for alternate sources of fuel. The production of ethyl alcohol from grain is described and the processes involved include saccharification, fermentation and distillation. The resulting stillage has potential as a livestock feed.

... childhood and last a lifetime. The most profound effects of prenatal alcohol exposure are brain damage and the resulting impairments ... these individuals. Risk Factors 9 The severity of alcohol’s effects on a fetus primarily depends on the following: » ...

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is one of the most prevalent and modifiable risk factors for somatic, behavioral, and neurological abnormalities. Affected individuals exhibit a wide range of such features referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). These are characterized by a more or less specific pattern of minor facial dysmorphic features, growth deficiency and central nervous system symptoms. Nevertheless, whereas the diagnosis of the full-blown fetal alcohol syndrome does not pose a major challenge, only a tentative diagnosis of FASD can be reached if only mild features are present and/or maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy cannot be verified. The respective disorders have lifelong implications. The teratogenic mechanisms induced by PAE can lead to various additional somatic findings and structural abnormalities of cerebrum and cerebellum. At the functional level, cognition, motor coordination, attention, language development, executive functions, memory, social perception and emotion processing are impaired to a variable extent. The long-term development is characterized by disruption and failure in many domains; an age-adequate independency is frequently not achieved. In addition to primary prevention, individual therapeutic interventions and tertiary prevention are warranted; provision of extensive education to affected subjects and their caregivers is crucial. Protective environments are often required to prevent negative consequences such as delinquency, indebtedness or experience of physical/sexual abuse. PMID:24965796

Recent epidemiological studies indicate that alcohol consumption in women has increased in the last few years, which suggests that alcoholism in women will also increase in the near future. Moreover, this disease shows differential characteristics in women, and knowledge of these characteristics is important so that treatment can begin as early as possible. The objective of the present study was to explore clinical differences in alcohol use disorders according to patients' gender. It was carried out with a sample of 370 patients, 325 men (87.8%) and 45 women (12.2%), with mean ages of 42.83 and 44.6 years, respectively. The patients were assessed through the Europasi interview and analytical studies with liver enzyme profiles and blood tests. The most notable results were: women began alcohol consumption significantly later than men (19.61 and 16.9 years, respectively; p < 0.008); they were significantly older than men when the consumption pattern became problematic (30.93 and 24.68 years, respectively; p < 0.003); they had been drinking for fewer years (13.26 versus 17.85 years; p < 0.02); and they drank fewer grams of alcohol (117.7 and 133.8 g., respectively; n.s.). Women scored significantly higher than men on the Europasi psychiatric scale (2.91 and 1.97, respectively; p < 0.007) and men had more legal problems than women (1.2 and 1.0, respectively; p < 0.000). In the biological tests the GGT enzyme values were higher in men (137.51) than in women (96.7), but this difference was not significant, and the VCM value was significantly higher for women (98.1) than for men (95.05). Another important finding was that the percentage of women who had sought private professional help was higher than that of men (15% versus 4.6%; p < 0.01). PMID:18173101

This study explores types of alcohol and surrogates consumed, patterns of consumption, and reasons behind noncommercial alcohol consumption among alcohol-dependent patients in Belarus. The study was conducted in the Belarusian city Grodno in 2012 with 223 alcoholics admitted to narcological clinic using structured interviews. The results suggest that at least 20.2% of alcohol dependent patients regularly consume samogon and 11.8% of patients use surrogates, the most popular among which are medications with a high percentage of ethanol and industrial spirits. The belief that, according to quality criteria, samogon exceeds licensed vodka is the main motive for its consumption. The results of this study suggest the existence of the problem of consumption of noncommercial alcohol among alcohol dependent patients in Belarus. PMID:24233448

Brief alcohol counseling interventions can reduce alcohol consumption and related morbidity among non-dependent risky drinkers, but more intensive alcohol treatment is recommended for persons with alcohol dependence. This study evaluated whether scores on common alcohol screening tests could identify patients likely to have current alcohol dependence so that more appropriate follow-up assessment and/or intervention could be offered. This cross-sectional study used secondary data from 392 male and 927 female adult family medicine outpatients (1993–1994). Likelihood ratios were used to empirically identify and evaluate ranges of scores of the AUDIT, the AUDIT-C, two single-item questions about frequency of binge drinking, and the CAGE questionnaire for detecting DSM-IV past-year alcohol dependence. Based on the prevalence of past-year alcohol dependence in this sample (men: 12.2%; women: 5.8%), zones of the AUDIT and AUDIT-C identified wide variability in the post-screening risk of alcohol dependence in men and women, even among those who screened positive for alcohol misuse. Among men, AUDIT zones 5–10, 11–14 and 15–40 were associated with post-screening probabilities of past-year alcohol dependence ranging from 18–87%, and AUDIT-C zones 5–6, 7–9 and 10–12 were associated with probabilities ranging from 22–75%. Among women, AUDIT zones 3–4, 5–8, 9–12 and 13–40 were associated with post-screening probabilities of past-year alcohol dependence ranging from 6–94%, and AUDIT-C zones 3, 4–6, 7–9 and 10–12 were associated with probabilities ranging from 9–88%. AUDIT or AUDIT-C scores could be used to estimate the probability of past-year alcohol dependence among patients who screen positive for alcohol misuse and inform clinical decision-making. PMID:20042299

Body composition was evaluated in healthy detoxified alcoholics (aged 20-39) and lifestyle controls, with the expectation that prolonged, excessive consumption of alcohol may bring about nutritional or toxicologic alterations in the relationship between body fat and lean body mass. Body fat was assessed by measurements of skin-fold thickness and by means of bioelectric impedance methodology. No noteworthy differences were observed between alcoholics and controls with regard to the relationship between lean body mass and body fat or in the relationship between extracellular and intracellular water. It would appear that 15-20 years of heavy alcohol consumption does not necessarily alter body composition in healthy, young alcoholics. PMID:2190482

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that clinicians screen adults for alcohol misuse and provide persons engaged in risky or hazardous drinking behaviors with brief behavioral counseling to reduce alcohol misuse. However, only a minority of American adults with high-risk alcohol use receive treatment. Three medications are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat alcohol use disorder: acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone. Acamprosate and naltrexone reduce alcohol consumption and increase abstinence rates, although the effects appear to be modest. Disulfiram has been used for years, but evidence supporting its effectiveness is inconsistent. Other medications may be beneficial to reduce heavy alcohol use. The anticonvulsants topiramate and gabapentin may reduce alcohol ingestion, although long-term studies are lacking. Antidepressants do not decrease alcohol use in patients without mood disorders, but sertraline and fluoxetine may help depressed patients decrease alcohol ingestion. Ondansetron may reduce alcohol use, particularly in selected subpopulations. Further study is needed for genetically targeted or as-needed medications to reduce alcohol use. PMID:26977830

Alcohol consumption is common across subpopulations in the United States. However, the health burden associated with alcohol consumption varies across groups, including those defined by demographic characteristics such as age, race/ethnicity, and gender. Large national surveys, such as the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, found that young adults ages 18–25 were at particularly high risk of alcohol use disorder and unintentional injury caused by drinking. These surveys furthermore identified significant variability in alcohol consumption and its consequences among racial/ethnic groups. White respondents reported the highest prevalence of current alcohol consumption, whereas alcohol abuse and dependence were most prevalent among Native Americans. Native Americans and Blacks also were most vulnerable to alcohol-related health consequences. Even within ethnic groups, there was variability between and among different subpopulations. With respect to gender, men reported more alcohol consumption and binge drinking than women, especially in older cohorts. Men also were at greater risk of alcohol abuse and dependence, liver cirrhosis, homicide after alcohol consumption, and drinking and driving. Systematic identification and measurement of the variability across demographics will guide prevention and intervention efforts, as well as future research. PMID:27159807

Self-reported initial, early, and long-term drinking behaviors, experiences, and consequences were obtained from male alcoholics completing inpatient treatment. Subjects were recruited and selected on the basis that they met DSM-III criteria for diagnosis of alcohol dependency and that their biological fathers were alcoholic (FHP; Family History Positive) or that they had no biological family history of alcoholism (FHN; Family History Negative). Results indicated that FHP subjects rated their initial taste of beer higher than FHN subjects, that FHP subjects began tasting and subsequently regularly drinking alcohol at an earlier age than FHN subjects and that there was significantly shorter elapsed time between initiating regular drinking and developing alcoholic-symptomatic problems in living among FHP alcoholics than FHN alcoholics. Although there were a few other significant differences, the drinking-behavioral histories of the two groups were remarkably similar and parallel. Taken together, results suggest that familial risk factors primarily influence the rate at which alcoholic drinking and alcoholism develop, rather than the form or pattern of alcoholic drinking. PMID:1776550

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) supports research to elucidate the specific genetic factors, now largely unknown, which underlie susceptibility to alcoholism and its medical complications (including fetal alcohol syndrome). Because of the genetic complexity and heterogeneity of alcoholism, identification of the multiple underlying factors will require the development of new study designs and methods of analysis of data from human families. While techniques of genetic analysis of animal behavioral traits (e.g., targeted gene disruption, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping) are more powerful that those applicable to humans (e.g., linkage and allelic association studies), the validation of animal behaviors as models of aspects of human alcoholism has been problematic. Newly developed methods for mapping QTL influencing animal behavioral traits can not only permit analyses of human family data to be directly informed by the results of animal studies, but can also serve as a novel means of validating animal models of aspects of alcoholism. 55 refs.

Alcohol use disorder does not disappear with aging, neither the associated induced-suffering. While the prevalence of alcohol use disorder still remains around 10% in the subjects over 65 year old age, and daily encountered by hospital or nursing-home caregivers. Alcohol misuse is often overlooked in elderly people, which then obtain lesser care than younger adults although the care prognosis remains as good as or better than before the age of 65, alcoholic abstinence gets always a place among care offers to elders suffering of alcohol use disorders and dependence. However abstinence is a complex notion gathering various representations or meanings, and induces necessary psychological changes. Alcoholic abstinence seems thus to be feared by families or caregivers, because of lack of knowledge about the addictive dimension of the disorder. On behalf of ultimate freedom, and allowing a last pleasure, alcohol use disorders and its associated suffering can be neglected because abstinence is considered as aggressive and harmful. However, modalities of reduction of alcohol consumption as well as access control or regulated supply of alcoholic beverages, keep having a place in graduate care offers. Beyond the choice of decreasing or suppress drinking alcohol beverages, which only are terms or conditions of improvement, the main point remains the improvement of well-fare, quality of life and elders' health. PMID:27277151

An empirical biobehavioral research approach to the conditions generally identified as alcohol abuse and alcoholism emphasizes the temporal ordering of participating biochemical, physiological, and behavioral events that provide an operational basis for characterizing the functional aspects of this complex disorder and identifying distinguishable features of the alcohol abuse and dependence process. The available evidence suggests that alcoholism is a condition determined by a host of continuous variables rather than an entity possessing static qualities that imply intractability. The challenge for biobehavioral research is to determine the details of how chronic and excessive alcohol drinking is generated as well as the conditions under which such overindulgence can be attenuated and prevented. Environmental context, for example, can dramatically alter the frequency and amount of alcohol intake. Such contextual malleability is suggested as an important key to at least some of the inconsistencies in the literature with regard to the conditions under which chronic and excessive alcohol intake occurs. Excessive and chronic alcohol ingestion would seem most parsimoniously viewed as a set of behaviors for which others might have been substituted, and intermittently do, rather than as a highly specific disorder or disease. Though current etiological, preventive, and therapeutic orientations emphasize the role of physical dependence and favor genetic influences as strong determinants of alcohol-related disorders, it is important to recognize that troubled drinking is malleable, waxing and then entering periods of remission, with alcohol drinking even in severely dependent individuals remaining susceptible to control by both antecedent and consequating environmental events. PMID:3141967

A large proportion of Americans report binge or heavy drinking. The human and economic costs of alcohol misuse are extensive, with hundreds of thousands of lives lost or disrupted and billions of dollars spent due to impaired productivity, crime, and adverse health consequences. In an effort to reduce costs such as these, scientists and clinicians have developed brief interventions, characterized by their low intensity and short (5-60 minutes) duration, as well as by their intent to provide early intervention before drinkers develop alcohol abuse or dependence. The purpose of this review, therefore, is to analyze research studies related to brief intervention and critically analyze and critique their findings. In addition, both prospective randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses will be used to discuss the implications for clinical practice and make recommendations for future research. PMID:16350770

Whey disposal has become a serious environmental problem and loss of revenue to the cheese industry. The U.S. Dept. of Energy has indicated that cheese whey has one of the lowest net feedstock costs per gallon of ethanol. The manufacture of ethanol is accomplished by specially selected yeast fermentation of lactose via the glycolytic pathway. Three commercial processes are described, the Milbrew process which produces single cell protein and alcohol, and the Carbery and Denmark processes which produce potable alcohol. Selected strains of Kluveromyces fragilis are used in all processes and in the latter process, effluents are treated under anaerobic conditions to produce methane, which replaces 17-20% of the fuel oil required by the distillation plant.

According to the 'Report on alcohol fuels policy review', published in 1979 by the US Department of Energy, cheese whey had a very low net feedstock cost/gal of ethanol produced ($0.22) and the production potential in the USA is 90 million gal ethanol/yr. Three processes are described, i.e. the Milbrew whey fermentation process using Kluyveromyces fragilis with whey of 10-15% TS under sterile or non-sterile conditions and in batch, semi-continuous or continuous operation (primarily, designed for the production of single-cell protein), the continuous Carbery process in commercial operation in Ireland (DSA 42, 7856) and the Danish process (Dansk Gaerings-industri, Copenhagen) producing edible alcohol from whey permeate, and methane from distillation wastes for use as fuel for heating the distillation units.

Considerable research now exists that the media may exert a powerful influence on adolescents' drug-taking behavior. Teens view an average of 2,000 beer and wine ads per year in the US. In addition, television shows, movies, and music videos contain considerable amounts of alcohol use. This article will discuss the available research and offers suggestions to make the media healthier for teenagers. PMID:11993288

This article concentrates on the identification confrontation, and treatment of the elderly with late-onset alcohol-abuse problems. The author reviews signs and symptoms that are common both to the aging process and to late-onset problem drinking. He also provides a list of laboratory “markers” that may be helpful for the diagnosis and follow-up of this not infrequent problem. PMID:21253160

First, epidemiological data and socioeconomic consequences of alcohol addiction are summarized. Research findings, in particular in intervention and evaluation, from 2009-2011 in the field of alcohol addiction treatment are then discussed concerning their relevance for rehabilitation practice. The search was based on PubMed and PSYNDEX. The interventions most frequently evaluated and found most effective in alcohol addiction treatment are cognitive-behavioural interventions. Further topics dealt with are: pharmacological relapse prevention; technologically based therapies (e. g. e-therapy); systemic interventions; 12-steps; effectiveness of addiction treatment as confirmed in large-scale catamnestic studies; treatment of addiction and comorbidity; various subgroups (like elderly people and women); as well as other new and interesting developments such as rehab case management, dovetailing of medical and vocational interventions, stepped-care interventions, rehab management category groups as well as a new focus on individual treatment experiences and the pre-eminence of the therapeutic relationship. Finally, priority areas of future research are described. PMID:21976262

The follow-up study of alcoholic psychoses in male patients admitted to a clinical department of a psychiatric hospital in 2005-2007 was carried out. Patients with alcoholic psychoses made up from 15 to 30% of all patients. The number of psychosis had seasonal variations with the elevations in spring and autumn, peaks in January, lune and October. Alcoholic delirium morbidity made up from 69 to 82% of the total number of alcoholic psychoses, alcoholic hallucinosis varied from 14 to 27%. Other forms were presented by single cases. In alcoholic delirium hallucinations had brighter, sated character. The most specific were visual hallucinations in the form of zoohallucinations, hallucinations of an oral cavity ("sensation of threads, hair etc"). The most often observable characters were "extraneous people, animal, demons". In alcoholic hallucinosis, verbal contrast hallucinations, making comment hallucinations, visual illusions were most frequent. The family history of mental disorders and alcoholism was noted in 30% of patients with alcoholic psychosis. The probability of occurrence of alcoholic psychoses depended on the quality of consumed drinks. The presence of a cranial-brain injury in the anamnesis considerably aggravated the disease forecast and increased the risk of seizure syndrome. PMID:22611692

Ethanol has experimentally been shown to be "ulcerogenic," independent of gastric intraluminal pH. Ethanol remains ulcerogenic despite antisecretory doses of H2-receptor antagonists. Low-dose alcohol stimulates acid secretion in man, an effect possibly mediated by histamine or gastrin. High-dose alcohol reduces intraluminal acid by damaging mucosa, thereby enhancing back diffusion of hydrogen ion, and also by direct damage to oxyntic (parietal) cells. Ethanol is capable of increasing gastric mucosal permeability as evidenced by the increase in back diffusion (increases intraluminal pH) and by the characteristic fall in transmucosal potential difference which reflects surface cell layer exfoliation. This exfoliation may offer an explanation for the potentiating effect of alcohol on gastric mucosal injury when it is ingested simultaneously with other gastric irritants. Ethanol of greater than 20% concentration can rapidly destroy the gastric mucus-bicarbonate layer, which may be a defense layer for both the inhibition of back diffusion and bicarbonate neutralization of existing acid. Ethanol depletes sulfhydryl compounds in gastric mucosa. These sulfhydryls may be necessary for stabilization of cell membranes as well as for binding free radicals. Ethanol is damaging to the mucosal microcirculation. The rapidity of ethanol-induced damage makes it unlikely that the process is purely ischemic. The cytoprotective phenomenon, as this brief literature review suggests, is a multifactorial, dynamic process. The complex interplay of mucosal defense factors, endogenous and exogenous stimuli, induction of humoral responses, and ultimately the success or failure of cellular repair, is unlikely to be solely mediated by endogenous prostaglandins. Although prostaglandins are unquestionably significant to cytoprotection, the supporting and, perhaps, major roles of leukotrienes, sulfhydryls, histamines, and like substances cannot be ignored. Several innovative therapeutic agents

The copolymerization of vinyl alcohol with a number of electron deficient olefins is reported. Vinyl alcohol was formed through the acid catalyzed hydrolysis of ketene methyl vinyl acetal. Under water starved conditions, the kinetics of tautomerization have a zero order dependence upon the concentration of vinyl alcohol (k{sub obs} = 3.5 x 10{sup -6} M/s). Hence, under these conditions, the half life of vinyl alcohol can be several hours at room temperature. We found that this meta-stable species could be quantitatively polymerized in a copolymerization (AIBN, h{upsilon}, -10 to 25{degrees}C) with maleic anhydride, maleimide or acrylonitrile.

Alcohol use disorders represent a heterogeneous spectrum of clinical manifestations that have been defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5. Excessive alcohol intake can lead to damage of various organs, including the liver. Alcoholic liver disease includes different injuries ranging from steatosis to cirrhosis and implicates a diagnostic assessment of the liver disease and of its possible complications. There is growing interest in the possible different tools for assessing previous alcohol consumption and for establishing the severity of liver injury, especially by non-invasive methods. PMID:25009373

Prepared at the request of US Senator Birch Bayh, Chairman of the National Alcohol Fuels Commission, this study may be best utilized as a guidebook and resource manual to foster the development of a statewide fuel alcohol plan. It examines sectors in Indiana which will impact or be impacted upon by the fuel alcohol industry. The study describes fuel alcohol technologies that could be pertinent to Indiana and also looks closely at how such a fuel alcohol industry may affect the economic and policy development of the State. Finally, the study presents options for Indiana, taking into account the national context of the developing fuel alcohol industry which, unlike many others, will be highly decentralized and more under the control of the lifeblood of our society - the agricultural community.

Hepatocellular carcinoma shows a rising incidence worldwide, and the largest burden of disease in Western countries derives from patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and cirrhosis, the latter being the premier premalignant factor for HCC. The present chapter addresses key issues including the epidemiology of alcohol-associated HCC, and its link to other coexisting non-alcoholic liver diseases, and additional host and environmental risk factors including the underlying genetics. Also discussed are molecular mechanisms of alcohol-associated liver cancer evolution involving the mediators of alcohol toxicity and carcinogenicity, acetaldehyde and reactive oxygen species, as well as the recently described mutagenic adducts which these mediators form with DNA. Specifically, interference of alcohol with retinoids and cofactors of transmethylation processes are outlined. Information presented in this chapter illustrates that the development of HCC in the context of ALD is multifaceted and suggests several molecular targets for prevention and markers for the screening of risk groups. PMID:25427904

The authors considered compliance with a decision aid that E. Thorp (1966) designed to minimize loss in a gambling paradigm under different levels of risk or impairment. Twenty adult men (aged 18-46) completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H.R. Lesieur & S. B. Blume, 1987) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT; J. P. Allen, D. E Reinert, & R. J. Volk, 2001) and then played a computer blackjack program before and after ingesting alcohol. The decision aid (online Basic advice) increased players' compliance with optimal play and also increased players willingness to wager more at high stakes. Participants attained a mean peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.048%. Alcohol increased the rate of play. After consuming alcohol, participants appeared to spend less time on their decisions and were more reliant on support. The authors explained these results in terms of an alcohol-induced myopia that enhances responses to salient cues. PMID:17824402

The production of alcohol fuel from biomass represents a fast and practical means of adding to the dwindling petroleum supply. The biomass feed-stocks which will feed the alcohol distilleries must be carefully selected. Using food chain biomass crops for conversion to alcohol will cause a reduction in the amount of food available and increase the cost of food and alcohol feedstocks. The food chains should not be drastically interrupted, and agricultural economic balances should not be altered. Various alternatives to alcohol production are presented, which lie within the confines of selected biomass feedstocks and will not interrupt normal agricultural activities. A corn processing and distillation process is shown graphically as an example; the biomass to alcohol conversion potential of feedstocks is given, and the potential cropland for conversion in the U.S.A. is shown as a percentage of the nation's total land area.

Alcohol dependence constitutes a neuroadaptive state critical for understanding alcoholism, and various methods have been utilized to induce alcohol dependence in animals, one of which is alcohol vapor exposure. Alcohol vapor inhalation provides certain advantages over other chronic alcohol exposure procedures that share the ultimate goal of producing alcohol dependence in rats. Chronic alcohol vapor inhalation allows the experimenter to control the dose, duration, and pattern of alcohol exposure. Also, this procedure facilitates testing of somatic and motivational aspects of alcohol dependence. Chronic exposure to alcohol vapor produces increases in alcohol-drinking behavior, increases in anxiety-like behavior, and reward deficits in rats. Alcohol vapor inhalation as a laboratory protocol is flexible, and the parameters of this procedure can be adjusted to accommodate the specific aims of different experiments. This unit describes the options available to investigators using this procedure for dependence induction, when different options are more or less appropriate, and the implications of each. PMID:18634001

Alcohol-related diseases of the nervous system are caused by excessive exposures to alcohol, with or without co-existing nutritional or vitamin deficiencies. Toxic and metabolic effects of alcohol (ethanol) vary with brain region, age/developmental stage, dose, and duration of exposures. In the mature brain, heavy chronic or binge alcohol exposures can cause severe debilitating diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, and skeletal muscle. Most commonly, long-standing heavy alcohol abuse leads to disproportionate loss of cerebral white matter and impairments in executive function. The cerebellum (especially the vermis), cortical-limbic circuits, skeletal muscle, and peripheral nerves are also important targets of chronic alcohol-related metabolic injury and degeneration. Although all cell types within the nervous system are vulnerable to the toxic, metabolic, and degenerative effects of alcohol, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and synaptic terminals are major targets, accounting for the white matter atrophy, neural inflammation and toxicity, and impairments in synaptogenesis. Besides chronic degenerative neuropathology, alcoholics are predisposed to develop severe potentially life-threatening acute or subacute symmetrical hemorrhagic injury in the diencephalon and brainstem due to thiamine deficiency, which exerts toxic/metabolic effects on glia, myelin, and the microvasculature. Alcohol also has devastating neurotoxic and teratogenic effects on the developing brain in association with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder/fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol impairs function of neurons and glia, disrupting a broad array of functions including neuronal survival, cell migration, and glial cell (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) differentiation. Further progress is needed to better understand the pathophysiology of this exposure-related constellation of nervous system diseases and better correlate the underlying pathology with in vivo imaging and biochemical lesions

Alcohol-related diseases of the nervous system are caused by excessive exposures to alcohol, with or without co-existing nutritional or vitamin deficiencies. Toxic and metabolic effects of alcohol (ethanol) vary with brain region, age/developmental stage, dose, and duration of exposures. In the mature brain, heavy chronic or binge alcohol exposures can cause severe debilitating diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems, and skeletal muscle. Most commonly, long-standing heavy alcohol abuse leads to disproportionate loss of cerebral white matter and impairments in executive function. The cerebellum (especially the vermis), cortical-limbic circuits, skeletal muscle, and peripheral nerves are also important targets of chronic alcohol-related metabolic injury and degeneration. Although all cell types within the nervous system are vulnerable to the toxic, metabolic, and degenerative effects of alcohol, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and synaptic terminals are major targets, accounting for the white matter atrophy, neural inflammation and toxicity, and impairments in synaptogenesis. Besides chronic degenerative neuropathology, alcoholics are predisposed to develop severe potentially life-threatening acute or subacute symmetrical hemorrhagic injury in the diencephalon and brainstem due to thiamine deficiency, which exerts toxic/metabolic effects on glia, myelin, and the microvasculature. Alcohol also has devastating neurotoxic and teratogenic effects on the developing brain in association with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder/fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol impairs function of neurons and glia, disrupting a broad array of functions including neuronal survival, cell migration, and glial cell (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) differentiation. Further progress is needed to better understand the pathophysiology of this exposure-related constellation of nervous system diseases and better correlate the underlying pathology with in vivo imaging and biochemical lesions

Acute and chronic alcohol use leads to an impaired immune response and dysregulated inflammatory state that contributes to a markedly increased risk of infection. Via shared mechanisms of immune-mediated injury, alcohol can alter the clinical course of viral infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus. These effects are most evident in patients with alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. This article provides an overview of alcohol's effect on the immune system and contribution to the risks and outcomes of specific infectious diseases. PMID:27373619

Although the misuse of firearms is necessary to the occurrence of firearm violence, there are other contributing factors beyond simply firearms themselves that might also be modified to prevent firearm violence. Alcohol is one such key modifiable factor. To explore this, we undertook a 40-year (1975-2014) systematic literature review with meta-analysis. One large group of studies showed that over one third of firearm violence decedents had acutely consumed alcohol and over one fourth had heavily consumed alcohol prior to their deaths. Another large group of studies showed that alcohol was significantly associated with firearm use as a suicide means. Two controlled studies showed that gun injury after drinking, especially heavy drinking, was statistically significant among self-inflicted firearm injury victims. A small group of studies investigated the intersection of alcohol and firearms laws and alcohol outlets and firearm violence. One of these controlled studies found that off-premise outlets selling takeout alcohol were significantly associated with firearm assault. Additional controlled, population-level risk factor and intervention studies, including randomized trials of which only 1 was identified, are needed. Policies that rezone off-premise alcohol outlets, proscribe blood alcohol levels and enhance penalties for carrying or using firearms while intoxicated, and consider prior drunk driving convictions as a more precise criterion for disqualifying persons from the purchase or possession of firearms deserve further study. PMID:26811427

Examines the Brazilian National Alcohol Plan - Proalcohol - which has as its immediate aim, 20% replacement of all gasoline with alcohol. Future plans call for replacement of virtually all gasoline by alcohol and a significant fraction of diesel fuels by 1986. Issues which are looked at separately are: agronomic, industrial (alcohol production), utilization, institutional, social, environmental, and scientific. Economic issues pervade all of these and are considered in the conclusions. There is a brief discussion of methanol production and the lessons for the United States.

Formation of microstructure in homogeneous associated liquids is analyzed through the density-density pair correlation functions, both in direct and reciprocal space, as well as an effective local one-body density function. This is illustrated through a molecular dynamics study of two neat alcohols, namely, methanol and tert-butanol, which have a rich microstructure: chainlike molecular association for the former and micellelike for the latter. The relation to hydrogen bonding interaction is demonstrated. The apparent failure to find microstructure in water—a stronger hydrogen bonding liquid—with the same tools is discussed.

The alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a common management problem in hospital practice for neurologists, psychiatrists and general physicians alike. Although some patients have mild symptoms and may even be managed in the outpatient setting, others have more severe symptoms or a history of adverse outcomes that requires close inpatient supervision and benzodiazepine therapy. Many patients with AWS have multiple management issues (withdrawal symptoms, delirium tremens, the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, seizures, depression, polysubstance abuse, electrolyte disturbances and liver disease), which requires a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach. Although AWS may be complex, careful evaluation and available treatments should ensure safe detoxification for most patients. PMID:17986499

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Rats fed liquid diets containing 36% or 26% of calories from ethanol consume similar amounts of alcohol each day. After 3 weeks on ethanol diet, the blood alcohol levels (BAL) are high in rats fed the 36% alcohol diet, but low or insignificant in those fed the 26% alcohol diet. Rats in either alcohol diet group consume most of their diet in the night. Hence, the low BAL in 26% ethanol diet-fed rats may not be due to a more rapid diet consumption after feeding and clearance of the bulk of ingested alcohol as compared to the rats fed the 36% alcohol diet. BAL at various times during the day (7 AM, 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, 7 PM and 10 PM) are high in rats fed the 36% ethanol diet. However, BAL in those fed the 26% ethanol diet are low during the corresponding times. It appears that the low BAL produced by the enhanced hepatic metabolism of ethanol is related to the improved nutritional status in rats fed the 26% ethanol diet, compared to those fed 36% ethanol diet, because rats fed the 36% ethanol diet ingest reduced amounts of calories and other nutrients. Extrahepatic effects of chronic alcohol consumption caused by high BAL may be abated by an enhanced daily intake of nutrients by the animal.

Purpose An update on pharmacotherapy for achieving and maintaining abstinence and mitigating hepatic damage in patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is presented. Summary Currently there are limited pharmacotherapy options for managing ALD, which encompasses a broad spectrum of disorders ranging from steatosis and alcoholic hepatitis to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer. Individual variation in the severity, presentation, and complex pathologenesis of ALD defines barriers to effective treatment. Scoring of disease severity using validated assessment instruments should guide treatment approaches; abstinence and proper nutrition continue to be the cornerstones of management. A literature search (through December 31, 2013) identified no reports of randomized controlled trials using Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for the treatment of alcohol dependence in ALD-spectrum disorders. Disulfiram, acamprosate, and naltrexone (oral and intramuscular), while approved by FDA for treatment of alcohol dependence, are not currently approved for use in patients with ALD. Baclofen (also not FDA-approved for use in ALD) is the only medication available in the United States with demonstrated safety and efficacy in reducing alcoholic behavior that has been formally tested in clinical trials in patients with ALD. Pharmacotherapy of alcoholic hepatitis using glucocorticoids or pentoxifylline has shown promise, but these options are reserved for severe ALD only. Conclusion Although various treatments have been investigated for ALD in patients with alcoholism, complete abstinence from alcohol is currently the only recommended form of hepatoprotection for the entire spectrum of ALD diagnoses. PMID:25027533

Alcohol use disorders are pervasive in society and their impact affects quality of life, morbidity and mortality, as well as individual productivity. Alcohol has detrimental effects on an individual’s physiology and nervous system, and is associated with disorders of many organ and endocrine systems impacting an individual’s health, behavior, and ability to interact with others. Youth are particularly affected. Unfortunately, adolescent usage also increases the probability for a progression to dependence. Several areas of research indicate that the deleterious effects of alcohol abuse may be exacerbated by mixing caffeine with alcohol. Some behavioral evidence suggests that caffeine increases alcohol drinking and binge drinking episodes, which in turn can foster the development of alcohol dependence. As a relatively new public health concern, the epidemiological focus has been to establish a need for investigating the effects of caffeinated alcohol. While the trend of co-consuming these substances is growing, knowledge of the central mechanisms associated with caffeinated ethanol has been lacking. Research suggests that caffeine and ethanol can have additive or synergistic pharmacological actions and neuroadaptations, with the adenosine and dopamine systems in particular implicated. However, the limited literature on the central effects of caffeinated ethanol provides an impetus to increase our knowledge of the neuroadaptive effects of this combination and their impact on cognition and behavior. Research from our laboratories indicates that an established rodent animal model of alcoholism can be extended to investigate the acute and chronic effects of caffeinated ethanol. PMID:25419478

Alcohol use disorders are pervasive in society and their impact affects quality of life, morbidity and mortality, as well as individual productivity. Alcohol has detrimental effects on an individual's physiology and nervous system, and is associated with disorders of many organ and endocrine systems impacting an individual's health, behavior, and ability to interact with others. Youth are particularly affected. Unfortunately, adolescent usage also increases the probability for a progression to dependence. Several areas of research indicate that the deleterious effects of alcohol abuse may be exacerbated by mixing caffeine with alcohol. Some behavioral evidence suggests that caffeine increases alcohol drinking and binge drinking episodes, which in turn can foster the development of alcohol dependence. As a relatively new public health concern, the epidemiological focus has been to establish a need for investigating the effects of caffeinated alcohol. While the trend of co-consuming these substances is growing, knowledge of the central mechanisms associated with caffeinated ethanol has been lacking. Research suggests that caffeine and ethanol can have additive or synergistic pharmacological actions and neuroadaptations, with the adenosine and dopamine systems in particular implicated. However, the limited literature on the central effects of caffeinated ethanol provides an impetus to increase our knowledge of the neuroadaptive effects of this combination and their impact on cognition and behavior. Research from our laboratories indicates that an established rodent animal model of alcoholism can be extended to investigate the acute and chronic effects of caffeinated ethanol. PMID:25419478

Objective Alcohol expectancies are developed, in part, through exposure to health messages, the understanding of which may be influenced by health literacy. This study explores the relationships among health literacy, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use behaviors in teens. Methods We studied alcohol use behaviors in the past six months in youths aged 14–19 recruited from two adolescent medicine clinics. We assessed covariate-adjusted bivariate relationships between HL, expectancies, and four measures of alcohol use and tested health literacy as a moderator of the relationship between expectancies and use. Results Of the 293 study teens, 45 percent reported use of alcohol in the past six months. Use behaviors were positively associated with higher health literacy and positive expectancies. Our moderation model suggested that health literacy moderates the relationship between expectancies and use, with the expectancy/use relationship being significantly stronger in higher literacy teens. Conclusion Findings suggest that health literacy can influence alcohol expectancies and behaviors. Practice implications: Health literacy should be explicitly considered in the design of alcohol prevention messages. PMID:25085549

Alcohol addiction is a heterogeneous psychiatric disorder according to both phenotype and etiology. Difference in phenotype characteristics manifests in the manner the addiction arises, history of the alcoholic and history of drinking, comorbid disorders, and the phenomenon of abstinence difficulties. Concerning the etiology of alcoholism, the disease itself is considered to be a consequence of an interactive influence of the environment and genetic factors. Numerous researches conducted in the last decades discovered many aspects of the biochemical, cell and molecular bases of alcohol addiction, leading to a conclusion that alcoholism is, like many other addictions, a brain disease. By recognizing alcoholism as a disease which basically implies changes of the neurobiological mechanisms, as well as a clear genetic basis, it was supposed that the disease, having its basis solely in the symptomatology, is essentially heterogeneous. By trying to solve the problem of a clinically heterogeneous nature of the disease during the last fifty years, various sub-classifications of such patients have been suggested. According to Cloninger, subtypes of alcoholism differ also according to changes in the brain neurotransmission systems, i.e. it is supposed that patients suffering from alcoholism type 1 have a more pronounced dopaminergic transmission deficit, while dopaminergic transmission is not disturbed significantly in patients diagnosed with alcoholism type 2, who, however, have a significant lack of serotonergic transmission. In such a way, Cloninger actually presented the basis of the so-called neurobiological alcoholism model. Since he has connected differences in neurotransmission with differences in personality characteristics, this model is also known as the psychobiological model of alcoholism. The characteristic of alcoholism type 1 is avoiding damage (Harm Avoidance, HA) decreased dopamine transmission and increased serotonin transmission, while the significant

Considers neuropsychological changes associated with alcohol abuse and touches on related neuropathological and neuroradiological research. Describes neuropsychological research on recently detoxified alcoholic men, long-term abstainers, and animals. Sources of neuropsychological variability including family history of alcoholism, developmental…

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Female alcoholics performed significantly less well on neuropsychological tests than matched non-alcoholic controls. The range of performance deficits was similar to that previously reported for male alcoholics despite significantly shorter drinking histories. PMID:4084369

When a drop impacts a flat surface of the same liquid at an intermediate velocity, the impact can result in the formation of a very large number of very small bubbles. At lower velocities, drops bounce or float, and at larger velocities a single bubble forms, or there is a splash. The formation of large numbers of small bubbles during intermediate velocity impacts is termed Mesler entrainment and its controlling mechanism is poorly understood. Existing research has shown that Mesler entrainment is highly irreproducible when water is the working fluid, and very reproducible when silicone oil is the working fluid. Whether this is because water is problematic, or silicone oil is uniquely well-suited, is unclear. To answer this question, experiments were conducted using three different alcohols. The results of these experiments were very reproducible for all alcohols tested, suggesting that there is something unique about water which accounts for its lack of reproducibility. The data from these experiments were also used to develop a dimensionless group that quantifies the conditions under which Mesler entrainment occurs. This dimensionless group is used to provide insight into the mechanism of this unique method of bubble formation.

This article describes the role played by a patient's mental competency in the assessment and treatment of patients who are under the influence of alcohol and expressing suicidal thoughts. The factors that should be taken into consideration in the assessment of suicidality are not always clear: somatic complications or possible discharge from the emergency room. The treating physician at the emergency department should evaluate the mental competency. The risk of suicide should also be assessed by a psychiatrist. In order to make the right decisions about treatment and mental competency, the key concepts of proportionality, effectiveness and subsidiarity in the assessment of mental competency are crucial. These concepts require a personalized, multidisciplinary approach and result in unique decisions which may differ from case to case. In the assessment and treatment of patients under the influence of alcohol who are suicidal and do not want to have a proper medical evaluation, communication between the emergency physician, internist and psychiatrist is crucial to optimize both evaluation and treatment. In this context, tasks and responsibilities should be clearly defined in order to minimize the risk of errors and complications. PMID:26443116

The action of acute and chronic administration of ethanol on pancreatic exocrine secretion in humans and several animal species is reviewed. If the data concerning the secretory action of ethanol on the pancreas are to the property assessed, several experimental variables have to be considered. Acute intravenous administration of ethanol inhibits basal and hormonally stimulated pancreatic secretion of bicarbonate and protein in nonalcoholic humans and most species of animals tested. Oral or intraduodenal ethanol causes moderate stimulation of pancreatic bicarbonate and enzyme secretion. Since anticholinergic agents and truncal vagotomy diminish the ethanol-induced inhibition of pancreatic secretion in the intact animal, it is possible that the action of ethanol on the pancreas is at least partly mediated by inhibitory cholinergic mechanisms. The action of ethanol on the pancreas may also be mediated by release of gastrointestinal hormones. Intravenous and oral administration of ethanol releases gastrin in dogs but not in humans. Pancreatic polypeptide is unlikely to be the hormonal mediator of the ethanol-induced inhibition of exocrine pancreatic secretion in humans and dogs, since ethanol does not release pancreatic polypeptide. The main secretory changes induced by chronic alcoholism in humans and dogs are increased basal secretion of pancreatic enzymes and decreased basal bicarbonate output, and these secretory changes may favour the occurrence of protein precipitates which are believed to be the first lesion of chronic pancreatitis in man. A decrease in the concentration of "pancreatic stone protein" in pancreatic juice may favour the development of protein precipitates in chronic alcoholic patients. PMID:3901251

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and its sequelae impose a major burden on the public health of the United States, and adequate long-term control of this disorder has not been achieved. Molecular and behavioral basic science research findings are providing the groundwork for understanding the mechanisms underlying AUD and have identified multiple candidate targets for ongoing clinical trials. However, the translation of basic research or clinical findings into improved therapeutic approaches for AUD must become more efficient. Translational research is a multistage process of streamlining the movement of basic biomedical research findings into clinical research and then to the clinical target populations. This process demands efficient bidirectional communication across basic, applied, and clinical science as well as with clinical practitioners. Ongoing work suggests rapid progress is being made with an evolving translational framework within the alcohol research field. This is helped by multiple interdisciplinary collaborative research structures that have been developed to advance translational work on AUD. Moreover, the integration of systems biology approaches with collaborative clinical studies may yield novel insights for future translational success. Finally, appreciation of genetic variation in pharmacological or behavioral treatment responses and optimal communication from bench to bedside and back may strengthen the success of translational research applications to AUD. PMID:26259085

Anna Freud defined adolescence "evolutional disorder", meaning also a compulsory and temporary shift. Corresponding, biologically, to the puberty, it is an age full of expectations and hopes, nevertheless not free from psychological and social risks: because of a changing relation with family, of the searching of new models, of the coming in contact with less protective contexts, of the differentiation of affective expectations. Therefore it can be that the passing from childhood to active subjectivity brings on anxiety, conflicts and deviance; and it can suggest illusory remedies as overindulgence in alcohol, alarming phenomenon denounced by WHO and by many other international and Italian institutions. After these preliminary remarks, the A. reminds as alcohol and its by-products reached Europe, describes its metabolism and its biological effects, the genetic factors which could predispose to the tolerance and/or to the addiction, the environmental and social ones, and the costs, both individual and public. Conclusions want suggest two omens: the reclamation of a new kind of family relation, based on listening and dialogue; and the achievement of a concrete alliance between society and young adult, which could conjugate the expectations of the community with the rights of the new subject for a free and integrated growing up. PMID:16209112

Introduction Stronger alcohol policies predict decreased alcohol consumption and binge drinking in the United States. We examined the relationship between the strength of states’ alcohol policies and alcoholic cirrhosis mortality rates. Methods We used the Alcohol Policy Scale (APS), a validated assessment of policies of the 50 US states and Washington DC, to quantify the efficacy and implementation of 29 policies. State APS scores (theoretical range, 0–100) for each year from 1999 through 2008 were compared with age-adjusted alcoholic cirrhosis death rates that occurred 3 years later. We used Poisson regression accounting for state-level clustering and adjusting for race/ethnicity, college education, insurance status, household income, religiosity, policing rates, and urbanization. Results Age-adjusted alcoholic cirrhosis mortality rates varied significantly across states; they were highest among males, among residents in states in the West census region, and in states with a high proportion of American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). Higher APS scores were associated with lower mortality rates among females (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.91 per 10-point increase in APS score; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.84–0.99) but not among males (adjusted IRR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.90–1.04). Among non-AI/AN decedents, higher APS scores were also associated with lower alcoholic cirrhosis mortality rates among both sexes combined (adjusted IRR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82–0.97). Policies were more strongly associated with lower mortality rates among those living in the Northeast and West census regions than in other regions. Conclusions Stronger alcohol policy environments are associated with lower alcoholic cirrhosis mortality rates. Future studies should identify underlying reasons for racial/ethnic and regional differences in this relationship. PMID:26469950

The vending machines which sell alcohol beverages (AVM) can be found quite easily in front of shops or on the roadside in this country. Although it is easily supposed that these vending machines might have badly influenced on developing alcohol dependence syndrome, no scientific study has been reported in this regard so far. In this study, we analyzed the present status of alcoholics (n = 759) and their family members (n = 512) and of ordinary people (n = 334) in terms of their "relation" and "attitudes" to the vending machines by a questionnaire method. The results obtained show as follows: The majority of alcoholics (60%) had used AVM a couple of times or more often in a week, and 18% of alcoholics had not used AVM at all. It was found that the natures of AVM such as "machine," "long time operation," "easy accessibility," are closely related to the development of their alcohol seeking behavior, resulting in forming unfavorable drinking patterns such as concealed drinking, gulping, early morning drinking or binge drinking. Unusual patterns of using AVM were also noticed among them, such as, go to AVM before 5 a.m. and wait until it starts to work, go to a far away AVM deliberately, or, visiting AVM one after another. It was noticed that these drinking habits affected seriously not only the alcoholics but their families also. The number of the family members who insisted that AVM affected badly on the course of alcohol dependence syndrome is larger than that of alcoholics who admit the same thing. As for the future abolition of AVM, 91% of the family members, 70% of alcoholics and 39% of ordinary persons agreed with. The rate of "agreed with abolition" is higher than that of "disagreed with abolition" among ordinary persons. PMID:7695515

Demographic data suggest that alcohol abuse among the elderly will increase in proportion to the population growth of that group. Four factors which may cause the elderly to be a highly susceptible group for alcohol problems are: (1) retirement and its boredom, role changes, and financial problems; (2) increased concern with death and losses of…

Reasonable and moderate drinking is considered acceptable by the major portion of the population. Although women consume less alcohol than men, alcohol has a greater intoxicating effect for women than for men because of the differences in body water content and proportion of fatty tissue. The prevalence rate of drinking is virtually identical for…

Cognitive abilities of social drinkers are generally thought to be affected by alcohol only during acute intoxication, but several studies suggest that sober-state performance may be affected by the quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking episode. Although the findings regarding sober-state mental deficits in social drinkers are inconclusive,…

Alcoholism research paradigms that use substantial cash incentives to attract participants and that call for alcoholics to consume ethanol in laboratory raise ethical questions. When using such methods, investigators should be obligated to discuss risk-benefit rationales and detail precautionary behaviors to protect participants. Discussion of…

Examined college student (n=552) drinking behavior and explored underlying reasons for continued excessive drinking. Results revealed alcohol-related physical symptoms, negative behavioral outcomes, and high incidence of driving while alcohol impaired. Students who were frequent drinkers showed little, if any, concern for their own drinking…

Electroencephalograms of 20 alcoholics and 20 nonalcoholics were obtained. Data indicated that alcoholics produced less alpha than nonalcoholics. In one training condition subjects were given accurate biofeedback, whereas in the other condition subjects were given random (noncontingent) feedback. Accurate biofeedback did not result in greater…

The purpose of this booklet is to raise the awareness of teachers and other school personnel about the needs and characteristics of the children of alcoholics and addicts and to explain what schools can do to help. The booklet discusses: (1) risk factors for children of alcoholics and substance abusers, including the psychological, emotional, and…

This paper reviews the research literature on the relationship of drugs, alcohol, and driving among young people, university students, and a group of young criminals. The data show that young people use drugs more than adults do, and that they drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, especially at night, more often than adults do, and…

Examined women (N=20) who were receiving alcoholism treatment in the skid-row area of Portland, Oregon. Women had histories of problem drinking and extensive treatment for alcoholism. Most had been married and had children. Despite transiency, the majority maintained contact with friends and relatives. Compared these women to New York City's…

While some children may experience negative consequences as the result of growing up with an alcoholic parent, the majority will never develop any difficulties. This article examines how adolescent children of alcoholics can be supported by using positive, strengths-based approaches which focus on existing skills and abilities, rather than…

A significant amount of neurobiological research regarding the development of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) has focused on alcohol-related activation and long-term alterations in the mesocortical dopaminergic reward pathways. However, alcohol does not only interact with brain reward systems. Many of its acute and chronic effects may be related to allostatic adaptations in hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic stress regulation pathways. For example, acute binge intoxication is associated with hypothalamically driven increases in blood cortisol, norepinephrine, and sex steroid metabolite levels. This may contribute to the development of mesocortical sensitization to alcohol. Furthermore, chronic alcohol exposure is associated with systemic dysregulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, sympathetic adrenal medullary system, and sex steroid systems. This dysregulation appears to manifest as neuroendocrine tolerance. In this review, we first summarize the literature suggesting that alcohol-induced alterations in these hypothalamic systems influence craving and contribute to the development of AUDs. We note that for women, the effects of alcohol on these neuroendocrine stress regulation systems may be influenced by the rhythmic variations of hormones and steroids across the menstrual cycle. Second, we discuss how changes in these systems may indicate progression of AUDs and increased risk of relapse in both sexes. Specifically, neuroendocrine tolerance may contribute to mesocortical sensitization, which in turn may lead to decreased prefrontal inhibitory control of the dopaminergic reward and hypothalamic stress systems. Thus, pharmacological strategies that counteract alcohol-associated changes in hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic stress regulation pathways may slow the development and progression of AUDs. PMID:27254089

This workbook is to be used in conjunction with the Trainer Manual entitled Training Alcoholism Trainers. The program was developed to upgrade training design and delivery skills of inservice trainers in the field of alcoholism. The workbook contains all the handout sheets necessary for participant sessions. (Author/BMW)

Because most studies investigating psychological profiles of subjects convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) have been conducted at the time of arrest or treatment, it is unclear whether subjects' anxiety, depression, and hostility represent "trait" characteristics central to alcohol abuse or "state" responses to arrest and…

SUMMARY The number of Americans who are overweight or obese has reached epidemic proportions. Elevated weight is associated with health problems and increased medical expenditures. This paper analyzes Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) to investigate the role of alcohol consumption in weight gain. Alcohol is not only an addictive substance but also a high-calorie beverage that can interfere with metabolic function and cognitive processes. Because men and women differ in the type and amount of alcohol they consume, in the biological effects they experience as a result of alcohol consumption, and in the consequences they face as a result of obesity, we expect our results to differ by gender. We use first-difference models of body mass index (BMI) and alcohol consumption (frequency and intensity) to control for time-invariant unobservable factors that may influence changes in both alcohol use and weight status. Increasing frequency and intensity of alcohol use is associated with statistically significant yet quantitatively small weight gain for men but not for women. Moreover, the first-difference results are much smaller in magnitude and sometimes different in sign compared to the benchmark pooled cross-sectional estimates. PMID:19548203

This report provides primarily an assessment of the resource base for producing alcohol fuel from grain. The effect of different levels of alcohol production are discussed with respect to farm income, land conservation practices, food prices, and exports. The economics of ethanol production from the standpoint of feedstock availability and price are comprehensively examined.

... impairment 0.30 -- confusion 0.40 -- stupor 0.50 -- coma 0.60 -- respiratory paralysis and death You can have symptoms of "being drunk" at blood alcohol levels below the legal definition of being drunk. Also, people who drink alcohol frequently may not have symptoms ...

Alcohol consumption is a global phenomenon, as is the resultant health, social and economic harm. The nature of these harms varies with different drinking patterns and with the societal and political responses to the burden of harm; nevertheless, alcohol-related chronic diseases have a major effect on health. Strong evidence exists for the effectiveness of different strategies to minimize this damage and those policies that target price, availability and marketing of alcohol come out best, whereas those using education and information are much less effective. However, these policies can be portrayed as anti-libertarian and so viewing them in the context of alcohol-related harm to those other than the drinker, such as the most vulnerable in society, is important. When this strategy is successful, as in Scotland, it has been possible to pass strong and effective legislation, such as for a minimum unit price for alcohol. PMID:27188823

Several years ago, Cohen et al. (1958) demonstrated that under the influence of alcohol drivers became more risk prone, although their risk perception remained unchanged. Research shows that ambiguity aversion is to some extent positively correlated with risk aversion, though not very highly (Camerer and Weber, 1992). The question addressed by the present research is whether alcohol reduces ambiguity aversion. Our research was conducted in a natural setting (a restaurant bar), where customers with differing levels of alcohol intoxication were offered a choice between a risky and an ambiguous lottery. We found that alcohol reduced ambiguity aversion and that the effect occurred in men but not women. We interpret these findings in terms of the risk-as-value hypothesis, according to which, people in Western culture tend to value risk, and suggest that alcohol consumption triggers adherence to socially and culturally valued patterns of conduct different for men and women. PMID:25642202

The alcohol ignition interlock is an in-vehicle DWI control device that prevents a car from starting until the operator provides a breath alcohol concentration (BAC) test below a set level, usually .02% (20 mg/dl) to .04% (40 mg/dl). The first interlock program was begun as a pilot test in California 18 years ago; today all but a few US states, and Canadian provinces have interlock enabling legislation. Sweden has recently implemented a nationwide interlock program. Other nations of the European Union and as well as several Australian states are testing it on a small scale or through pilot research. This article describes the interlock device and reviews the development and current status of interlock programs including their public safety benefit and the public practice impediments to more widespread adoption of these DWI control devices. Included in this review are (1) a discussion of the technological breakthroughs and certification standards that gave rise to the design features of equipment that is in widespread use today; (2) a commentary on the growing level of adoption of interlocks by governments despite the judicial and legislative practices that prevent more widespread use of them; (3) a brief overview of the extant literature documenting a high degree of interlock efficacy while installed, and the rapid loss of their preventative effect on repeat DWI once they are removed from the vehicles; (4) a discussion of the representativeness of subjects in the current research studies; (5) a discussion of research innovations, including motivational intervention efforts that may extend the controlling effect of the interlock, and data mining research that has uncovered ways to use the stored interlock data record of BAC tests in order to predict high risk drivers; and (6) a discussion of communication barriers and conceptual rigidities that may be preventing the alcohol ignition interlock from taking a more prominent role in the arsenal of tools used to control

Thirty-five alcoholic families have been studied to investigate the relationship between DNA markers at the monoamine oxidase (MAO) loci and (1) platelet activity levels and (2) alcoholism. A quantitative linkage analysis failed to reveal any evidence that the variation in activity levels cosegregates with the DNA markers. A sib-pair analysis did not reveal a significant excess of MAO haplotype sharing among alcoholic sibs, although the deviation from random sharing was in the direction consistent with an X-linked component. A reanalysis of platelet MAO activity levels in a subset of these families revealed that the lower levels previously found in alcoholics is more likely due to the differences between males and females. Only among males and only when a {open_quotes}broad{close_quotes} definition of alcoholism is used (and MAO activity levels are transformed to normality) does it appear that alcoholics have depressed activities compared to nonalcoholics. Finally, when the confounding due to gender difference is removed, no differences between type I and type II alcoholics are found in these families. 63 refs., 6 tabs.

Alcoholism is a debilitating disorder that can take a significant toll on health and professional and personal relationships. Excessive alcohol consumption can have a serious impact on both drinkers and developing fetuses, leading to long-term learning impairments. Decades of research in laboratory animals and humans have demonstrated the value of eyeblink classical conditioning (EBC) as a well-characterized model system to study the neural mechanisms underlying associative learning. Behavioral EBC studies in adults with alcohol use disorders and in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders report a clear learning deficit in these two patient populations, suggesting alcohol-related damage to the cerebellum and associated structures. Insight into the neural mechanisms underlying these learning impairments has largely stemmed from laboratory animal studies. In this mini-review, we present and discuss exemplary animal findings and data from patient and neuroimaging studies. An improved understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying learning deficits in EBC related to alcoholism and prenatal alcohol exposure has the potential to advance the diagnoses, treatment, and prevention of these and other pediatric and adult disorders. PMID:26578987

When we consider alcoholism and the alcoholic patient--the phenomenon and the human being--we usually think in out-of-date terms. The criterion for excessive consumption of alcohol has been modified by our changed pattern of life, and what would once have been regarded as modest over-drinking--in a large, closely-knit family in a rural community--and tolerated and accepted as such, is no longer compatible with the demands of our technological age, with its small family units often in cramped conditions in big cities and living a life which demands precision and dexterity at all times, an acuteness of both mental and physical faculties--whether at home, in a factory or behind the wheel of a car. And it is these very qualities which the alcoholic has lost. Doctors, therefore, must be able to detect excessive consumption of alcohol before the dire stages of days gone by are reached and, supported by psychiatrists and the use of drugs where necessary, the doctor can provide the patient with a security and identity all too often lacking in the alcoholic patient, and thus help him to break away from his dependence on alcohol. PMID:7468275

Alcohol consumption, particularly heavier drinking, is an important risk factor for many health problems and, thus, is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. In fact, alcohol is a necessary underlying cause for more than 30 conditions and a contributing factor to many more. The most common disease categories that are entirely or partly caused by alcohol consumption include infectious diseases, cancer, diabetes, neuropsychiatric diseases (including alcohol use disorders), cardiovascular disease, liver and pancreas disease, and unintentional and intentional injury. Knowledge of these disease risks has helped in the development of low-risk drinking guidelines. In addition to these disease risks that affect the drinker, alcohol consumption also can affect the health of others and cause social harm both to the drinker and to others, adding to the overall cost associated with alcohol consumption. These findings underscore the need to develop effective prevention efforts to reduce the pain and suffering, and the associated costs, resulting from excessive alcohol use. PMID:22330211

Alcoholism is a debilitating disorder that can take a significant toll on health and professional and personal relationships. Excessive alcohol consumption can have a serious impact on both drinkers and developing fetuses, leading to long-term learning impairments. Decades of research in laboratory animals and humans have demonstrated the value of eyeblink classical conditioning (EBC) as a well-characterized model system to study the neural mechanisms underlying associative learning. Behavioral EBC studies in adults with alcohol use disorders and in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders report a clear learning deficit in these two patient populations, suggesting alcohol-related damage to the cerebellum and associated structures. Insight into the neural mechanisms underlying these learning impairments has largely stemmed from laboratory animal studies. In this mini-review, we present and discuss exemplary animal findings and data from patient and neuroimaging studies. An improved understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying learning deficits in EBC related to alcoholism and prenatal alcohol exposure has the potential to advance the diagnoses, treatment, and prevention of these and other pediatric and adult disorders. PMID:26578987

To characterize the relationship between alcohol use and homicide victimization, we used data from the Los Angeles City Police Department and the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office to study 4,950 victims of criminal homicides in Los Angeles in the period 1970-79. Alcohol was detected in the blood of 1,883 (46 per cent) of the 4,092 victims who were tested. In 30 per cent of those tested, the blood alcohol level was greater than or equal to 100 mg/100 ml, the level of legal intoxication in most states. Blood alcohol was present most commonly in victims who were male, young, and Latino, categories where rates have been increasing at an alarming pace. Alcohol was also detected most commonly in victims killed during weekends, when homicides occurred in bars or restaurants, when homicides resulted from physical fights or verbal arguments, when victims were friends or acquaintances of offenders, and when homicides resulted from stabbings. The evidence for alcohol use by homicide victims focuses attention on the need for controlled epidemiologic studies of the role played by alcohol as a risk factor in homicide and on the importance of considering situational variables in developing approaches to homicide prevention. PMID:3946695

Background An estimated 18 million adults in the United States meet the clinical criteria for diagnosis of alcohol abuse or alcoholism, a disorder ranked as the third leading cause of preventable death. In addition to brain pathology, heavy alcohol consumption is co-morbid with damage to major organs including heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys. Much of what is known about risk for and consequences of heavy consumption derive from rodent or retrospective human studies. The neurobiological effects of chronic intake in rodent studies may not easily translate to humans due to key differences in brain structure and organization between species, including a lack of higher-order cognitive functions, and differences in underlying prefrontal cortical neural structures that characterize the primate brain. Further, rodents do not voluntarily consume large quantities of EtOH and they metabolize it more rapidly than primates. Methods The basis of the Monkey Alcohol Tissue Research Resource (MATRR) is that nonhuman primates (NHPs), specifically monkeys, show a range of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol (>3.0 g/kg or a 12 drink equivalent/day) over long periods of time (12–30 months) with concomitant pathological changes in endocrine, hepatic and central nervous system (CNS) processes. The patterns and range of alcohol intake that monkeys voluntarily consume parallel what is observed in humans with alcohol use disorders and the longitudinal experimental design spans stages of drinking from the ethanol-naïve state to early exposure through chronic abuse. Age- and sex-matched control animals self-administer an isocaloric solution under identical operant procedures. Results The MATRR is a unique post-mortem tissue bank that provides CNS and peripheral tissues, and associated bioinformatics from monkeys that self-administer ethanol using a standardized experimental paradigm to the broader alcohol research community. Conclusions This resource provides a translational

The mutagenicities of evaporated residues of alcoholic beverages were tested by the Ames method with the modification of pre-incubation, by using Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and TA98. 12 of 13 brands of whisky were mutagenic to TA100 without S9 mix. Addition of S9 mix decreased or abolished these mutagenicities. 5 brands of brandy and 1 apple brandy were tested, and all showed a similar type of mutagenicity to that of whisky. A fraction of brand-K whisky, containing a major mutagen(s), eluted from XAD-2 column with water, gave 3800 revertants of TA100 per plate at a dose equivalent to 10 ml of whisky. PMID:7012607

Alcohol biomarkers play a significant role in the early diagnosis of alcohol intoxication/abuse, alcohol-related organ damages, assessment of alcoholism therapy outcomes, and in forensic medicine. Laboratory detection of excessive alcohol consumption can be carried out by direct measuring of the ethanol and/or metabolites in biological samples which is of particular importance in the cases of acute ethanol intoxication/controlling and/or monitoring of alcohol consumption, or indirectly, by using biomarkers. Preferred diagnostic characteristics of alcohol biomarkers, specificity and sensitivity dependent on the particular demands such as: prevention and treatment of alcoholism in primary and social care, criminal justice, workplace health and safety screening, trafficking control, etc. Alcohol biomarkers traditionally used in clinical practice [blood alcohol concentration (BAC), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), the ratio GGT/CDT, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the rati. AST/ALT, mean cbrpuscular volume (MCV), phosphatidylethanol (PEth)] are well validated. They are used as screening/monitoring markers of acute/chronic excessive alcohol intake, alcoholism in pregnancy, and other disorders/conditions related to alcohol abuse. Numerous potential alcohol biomarkers have been discovered, but few are validated. Potential alcohol biomarkers (ethanol and serotonin metabolites, sialic acids, etc.) have good diagnostic characteristics, but their application in clinical practice is limited due to the costly equipment necessary for their measurement. Significant progress has been made in the development of sensitive and practical alcohol transdermal devices that can instantly/continuously measure BAC through human skin. Transdermal sensing of alcohol may become a valuable method for monitoring abstinence. A special aspect of alcoholism is genetic predisposition to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, or

Consumption of alcoholic beverages is widely encouraged by the mass media, despite the related health risks. Today's students in the health fields are the professionals of tomorrow who will be providing advice and serving as role models for patients. The aim of this study was to analyze alcohol consumption and related factors among these students. A total of 608 male and female university students from Maceió, the capital of Alagoas State, Brazil, completed a self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis included Poisson regression and multinomial logistic models. Prevalence of lifetime use of alcohol was 90.4%. Prevalence of alcohol abuse was 18.3% in men and 6.1% in women. Heavier alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse were observed in males, older students, non-natives of Maceió, smokers, and those exposed to alcohol advertising. The results emphasized the vulnerability of these young people to risky health behaviors. Their future social role highlights distinct needs in their university education to enable them to act professionally in this area. PMID:21877009

1. Anxiety reduction may be a mechanism in many of the behavioral problems associated with alcohol intake, including abuse, addiction, aggression, and impulsivity. 2. New "ethoexperimental" models of anxiety measure natural antipredator defensive behaviors. These include flight, freezing, and defensive threat and attack to discrete, present, threat stimuli; a pattern of risk assessment behaviors to potential threat; proximic avoidance and inhibition of nondefensive behaviors to both present and potential threat; and antipredator alarm vocalizations in a social situation when concealment is possible. 3. Alcohol reduces freezing, behavioral inhibition, and proximic avoidance. It increases risk assessment from a freezing baseline and decreases it from a movement (risk assessment) baseline. It has a biphasic effect on defensive attack, increasing it at low doses, but decreasing it at high doses. Alcohol has little or no effect on flight, defensive threat, and antipredator ultrasound. 4. The effects of alcohol on behavioral inhibition, proximic avoidance, and risk assessment from either a freezing or a movement baseline are identical to those of the classic anxiolytic, diazepam. However, alcohol appears to impact several defensive behaviors not influenced by diazepam. 5. These results provide considerable support for an anxiolytic interpretation of alcohol effects, but suggest that alcohol may have additional effects than those on anxiety mechanisms. PMID:8094255

Fatty alcohols have numerous commercial applications, including their use as lubricants, surfactants, solvents, emulsifiers, plasticizers, emollients, thickeners, and even fuels. Fatty alcohols are currently produced by catalytic hydrogenation of fatty acids from plant oils or animal fats. Microbial production of fatty alcohols may be a more direct and environmentally-friendly strategy since production is carried out by heterologous enzymes, called fatty acyl-CoA reductases, able to reduce different acyl-CoA molecules to their corresponding primary alcohols. Successful examples of metabolic engineering have been reported in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli in which the production of fatty alcohols ranged from 1.2 to 1.9 g/L, respectively. Due to their metabolic advantages, oleaginous yeasts are considered the best hosts for production of fatty acid-derived chemicals. Some of these species can naturally produce, under specific growth conditions, lipids at high titers (>50 g/L) and therefore provide large amounts of fatty acyl-CoAs or fatty acids as precursors. Very recently, taking advantage of such features, over 8 g/L of C16-C18 fatty alcohols have been produced in Rhodosporidium toruloides. In this review we summarize the different metabolic engineering strategies, hosts and cultivation conditions used to date. We also point out some future trends and challenges for the microbial production of fatty alcohols. PMID:27465852

The alcohol dehydrogenase from Methylobacterium organophilum, a facultative methane-oxidizing bacterium, has been purified to homogeneity as indicated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis. It has several properties in common with the alcohol dehydrogenases from other methylotrophic bacteria. The active enzyme is a dimeric protein, both subunits having molecular weights of about 62,000. The enzyme exhibits broad substrate specificity for primary alcohols and catalyzes the two-step oxidation of methanol to formate. The apparent Michaelis constants of the enzyme are 2.9 × 10−5 M for methanol and 8.2 × 10−5 M for formaldehyde. Activity of the purified enzyme is dependent on phenazine methosulfate. Certain characteristics of this enzyme distinguish it from the other alcohol dehydrogenases of other methylotrophic bacteria. Ammonia is not required for, but stimulates the activity of newly purified enzyme. An absolute dependence on ammonia develops after storage of the purified enzyme. Activity is not inhibited by phosphate. The fluorescence spectrum of the enzyme indicates that it and the cofactor associated with it may be chemically different from the alcohol dehydrogenases from other methylotrophic bacteria. The alcohol dehydrogenases of Hyphomicrobium WC-65, Pseudomonas methanica, Methylosinus trichosporium, and several facultative methylotrophs are serologically related to the enzyme purified in this study. The enzymes of Rhodopseudomonas acidophila and of organisms of the Methylococcus group did not cross-react with the antiserum prepared against the alcohol dehydrogenase of M. organophilum. Images PMID:80974

This patent describes an alcohol stove consisting of a burner cup having a base and side walls for storage of liquid alcohol; a main burner assembly attached to the burner cup at a location where the main burner assembly will consume alcohol evaporating from within the burner cup when the main burner assembly is ignited, a top plate having upper and lower surfaces, wherein the main burner assembly is defined on the upper surface of the top plate and the burner cup is attached to the lower surface of to place, wherein the main burner assembly comprises a perimetrical surface, defined by an inner edge and an outer edge, and openings between the inner and outer edges from which alcohol escapes; an outer wall extending downwardly from the lower surface of the top plate in alignment with the outer edge; and an inner wall extending downwardly from the lower surface of the top plate in alignment with the inner edge, at least one screen located in the outer chimney which extends outwardly from the inner wall; and a metallic disc positioned within and near the base of the burner cup and in contact with the base or side walls of the burner cup which are also metallic for cooling the liquid alcohol in the burner cup the base and sidewalls being metallic, thereby preventing excessive alcohol evaporation and consequent uncontrolled combustion of alcohol at the main burner assembly.

Suicide is an escalating public health problem, and alcohol use has consistently been implicated in the precipitation of suicidal behavior. Alcohol abuse may lead to suicidality through disinhibition, impulsiveness and impaired judgment, but it may also be used as a means to ease the distress associated with committing an act of suicide. We reviewed evidence of the relationship between alcohol use and suicide through a search of MedLine and PsychInfo electronic databases. Multiple genetically-related intermediate phenotypes might influence the relationship between alcohol and suicide. Psychiatric disorders, including psychosis, mood disorders and anxiety disorders, as well as susceptibility to stress, might increase the risk of suicidal behavior, but may also have reciprocal influences with alcohol drinking patterns. Increased suicide risk may be heralded by social withdrawal, breakdown of social bonds, and social marginalization, which are common outcomes of untreated alcohol abuse and dependence. People with alcohol dependence or depression should be screened for other psychiatric symptoms and for suicidality. Programs for suicide prevention must take into account drinking habits and should reinforce healthy behavioral patterns. PMID:20617037

Alcoholism has always been emphasized in literature, narratives, and theater as its prevalence and related disability are very high, is found throughout the world, and affects women and men of all ages and social classes. There is a tragic or romantic fascination in the deep sense of personal failure that drinking is able to relieve and in the uncontrollable inability to stop drinking. These aspects have been portrayed well by fictional alcoholics in movies and novels. It has become evident that biological traits together with a complex series of psychosocial factors (e.g. negative life events, depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric or personality disorders), which are also well represented in novels and movies, can lead to alcohol addiction. Behavioral (euphoria, disinhibiting behaviors, aggressiveness) and neurological changes (confusion, bradypsychism, slurred speech, ataxia, blackouts) related to alcohol intoxication are also well portrayed by fictional characters. Delirium tremens, epilepsy, alcohol dementia, and Wernicke-Korsakoff disease, however, find less representation in literature and on the stage and screen. The treatment of alcoholic dependence is very difficult (as often reported by fictional and real stories), but should never be considered hopeless. It should be initiated at any stage of the disease. The support offered by Alcoholics Anonymous has always had great appeal for the public. Fictional works can portray alcohol addiction superbly and show some dark sides of human nature (negative emotions and autodestructive thoughts and behaviors), and, at the same time, the severity and pervasiveness of mental illnesses. The psychiatric and psychosocial aspects of alcohol addiction in movies and novels could be an inspiring source for new psychological studies and rehabilitation programs. PMID:23485899

The last issue of the Alcohol Fuels Process R/D Newsletter contained a work breakdown structure (WBS) of the SERI Alcohol Fuels Program that stressed the subcontracted portion of the program and discussed the SERI biotechnology in-house program. This issue shows the WBS for the in-house programs and contains highlights for the remaining in-house tasks, that is, methanol production research, alcohol utilization research, and membrane research. The methanol production research activity consists of two elements: development of a pressurized oxygen gasifier and synthesis of catalytic materials to more efficiently convert synthesis gas to methanol and higher alcohols. A report is included (Finegold et al. 1981) that details the experimental apparatus and recent results obtained from the gasifier. The catalysis research is principally directed toward producing novel organometallic compounds for use as a homogeneous catalyst. The utilization research is directed toward the development of novel engine systems that use pure alcohol for fuel. Reforming methanol and ethanol catalytically to produce H/sub 2/ and CO gas for use as a fuel offers performance and efficiency advantages over burning alcohol directly as fuel in an engine. An application of this approach is also detailed at the end of this section. Another area of utilization is the use of fuel cells in transportation. In-house researchers investigating alternate electrolyte systems are exploring the direct and indirect use of alcohols in fuel cells. A workshop is being organized to explore potential applications of fuel cells in the transportation sector. The membrane research group is equipping to evaluate alcohol/water separation membranes and is also establishing cost estimation and energy utilization figures for use in alcohol plant design.

This article reviews, critiques and politicises the positivist approaches that presently dominate alcohol advertising health research, and considers the benefits of a culturalist alternative. Positivist research in this area is identified as: (1) atheoretical and methods-driven; (2) restricted in focus, leaving critical issues unconsidered; and (3) inappropriately conceptualizing the 'normal' drinking person as rational and safe. The culturist alternative proposed is argued to present a more adequate framework, which can include and address problematic issues that are presently excluded, including: the pleasures associated with alcohol use, the involvements of 'normal' people in problem drinking, the inadequacy of present risk categories and the complexities of wider mediatory processes about alcohol in society. We argue for the adoption of more informed, culturalist approaches to alcohol advertising research. PMID:16464920

Alcoholic liver disease includes a broad clinical-histological spectrum from simple steatosis, cirrhosis, acute alcoholic hepatitis with or without cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma as a complication of cirrhosis. The pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease can be conceptually divided into (1) ethanol-mediated liver injury, (2) inflammatory immune response to injury, (3) intestinal permeability and microbiome changes. Corticosteroids may improve outcomes, but this is controversial and probably only impacts short-term survival. New pathophysiology-based therapies are under study, including antibiotics, caspase inhibition, interleukin-22, anakinra, FXR agonist and others. These studies provide hope for better future outcomes for this difficult disease. PMID:27373608

Alcoholic hepatitis is a pro-inflammatory chronic liver disease that is associated with high short-term morbidity and mortality (25%-35% in one month) in the setting of chronic alcohol use. Histopathology is notable for micro- and macrovesicular steatosis, acute inflammation with neutrophil infiltration, hepatocellular necrosis, perivenular and perisinusoidal fibrosis, and Mallory hyaline bodies found in ballooned hepatocytes. Other findings include the characteristic eosinophilic fibrillar material (Mallory’s hyaline bodies) found in ballooned hepatocytes. The presence of focal intense lobular infiltration of neutrophils is what typically distinguishes alcoholic hepatitis from other forms of hepatitis, in which the inflammatory infiltrate is primarily composed of mononuclear cells. Management consists of a multidisciplinary approach including alcohol cessation, fluid and electrolyte correction, treatment of alcohol withdrawal, and pharmacological therapy based on the severity of the disease. Pharmacological treatment for severe alcoholic hepatitis, as defined by Maddrey’s discriminant factor ≥ 32, consists of either prednisolone or pentoxifylline for a period of four weeks. The body of evidence for corticosteroids has been greater than pentoxifylline, although there are higher risks of complications. Recently head-to-head trials between corticosteroids and pentoxifylline have been performed, which again suggests that corticosteroids should strongly be considered over pentoxifylline. PMID:26576078

Objectives. We examined the relationship between state-level income inequality and alcohol outcomes and sought to determine whether associations of inequality with alcohol consumption and problems would be more evident with between-race inequality measures than with the Gini coefficient. We also sought to determine whether inequality would be most detrimental for disadvantaged individuals. Methods. Data from 2 nationally representative samples of adults (n = 13 997) from the 2000 and 2005 National Alcohol Surveys were merged with state-level inequality and neighborhood disadvantage indicators from the 2000 US Census. We measured income inequality using the Gini coefficient and between-race poverty ratios (Black–White and Hispanic–White). Multilevel models accounted for clustering of respondents within states. Results. Inequality measured by poverty ratios was positively associated with light and heavy drinking. Associations between poverty ratios and alcohol problems were strongest for Blacks and Hispanics compared with Whites. Household poverty did not moderate associations with income inequality. Conclusions. Poverty ratios were associated with alcohol use and problems, whereas overall income inequality was not. Higher levels of alcohol problems in high-inequality states may be partly due to social context. PMID:23237183

Over the past 20 years, alcohol researchers have made intensive efforts to understand alcohol use and its outcomes. To date, researchers have made much progress toward understanding the causes and consequences of alcoholism and its related problems. This publication attempts to convey the great spirit and promise of alcohol research. Established…

A major concern to anyone involved in the alcoholism field is the basic understanding of alcoholism as a disease that Hispanics have not yet completely accepted. Hispanics have usually labeled the use of alcoholic beverages as being embedded into Hispanic culture and have viewed alcoholism as an individual weakness to be endured in silence. (NQ)

Despite the strong empirical evidence linking alcohol use across varying levels to suicidal behavior, the field is lacking a unifying theoretical framework in this area. The concept of alcohol induced myopia to explain the varied effects of alcohol on the behaviors of individuals who drink has been proposed. The term "alcohol myopia" refers to its…

... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Isopropyl alcohol. 173.240 Section 173.240 Food... Related Substances § 173.240 Isopropyl alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol may be present in the following foods... the presence of the isopropyl alcohol and provides for the use of the hops extract only as...

Originally published in "Alcohol Health and Research World," this article is report of interview with Thomas D. Watts and Roosevelt Wright, Jr., conducted to explore solutions to complex problem of prevention of alcoholism among African Americans. Introduces readers to work of two experts in area of alcohol abuse and alcoholism among African…

This program guide was prepared by the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol Information of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Its purpose is to assist program planners in the development of strategies to minimize the abuse of alcoholic beverages by youths. It provides information and direction to: (1) youth-serving organizations…

Provides outline narrative of most possible outcomes of regular heavy alcohol use, regular alcohol abuse, or chronic alcoholism. A systems analysis approach is used to expose conditions that may result when a human organism is subjected to excessive and chronic alcohol consumption. Such an approach illustrates the detrimental effects which alcohol…

Introduces special journal issue on alcohol use among children and adolescents. Describes scope of the problem, claiming that alcohol is the most consumed drug among children and youth. Discusses possible progression in alcohol use, parents' reactions to their children using alcohol or other drugs, and effects of the media and advertising on…

Defines problem drinking and alcoholism, and differentiates normal drinking escapes from alcohol abuse by teenagers and other youths. Suggests teenagers consume alcohol for a myriad of reasons and this behavior often leads to alcohol dependence which can cause interference in normal relationships with others. (Author)

This booklet examines the problem of alcohol use among American teenagers. The role that alcohol plays in adult society is presented and its potential danger for causing teenage alcohol addiction is considered. A discussion on why some teenagers abuse alcohol focuses on familial, peer, sociocultural, environmental, personality, and behavioral…

Alcohol consumption and related problems are common among underage college students, yet qualitative, in-depth information on how/where these students obtain alcohol is limited. We conducted focus groups pertaining to access to alcohol and related issues with 19 underage college students. They reported that alcohol is easy to obtain from a variety…

Mortality resulting from alcohol abuse in young French people is too high in spite of prevention campaigns for road safety in particular. There are problems in identifying alcohol abuse in young people in preventive medicine or alcohol care services. This study was carried out in alcohol centres; data from patients under 25 are analysed and…

This paper explores the role of the school in addressing the problem of alcoholic students in elementary schools. The first chapter provides a historical overview of alcohol abuse and society's response to it. Emphasis is placed on the program of Alcoholics Anonymous; the first National Committee on Education about Alcoholism; the Comprehensive…

Many parents support the "supervised introduction" of alcohol to children. While initiation to regular alcohol consumption in early adolescence has been linked with alcohol-related problems in adult life, the findings from these studies cannot be extrapolated to early childhood. The definition of initiation to alcohol in early childhood is often…

Discusses problems faced by children growing up in an alcoholic family. Reviews four survivor roles of children of alcoholics (COAs): super-coper, scapegoat, lost child, and family mascot. Describes alcoholism as a disease of denial. Reviews the Children of Alcoholics movement begun by adult COAs to become advocates for COAs. (NB)

Notes that children of alcoholics use common maladaptively successful methods to achieve their survival-oriented fictive goals and carry these behaviors with them into adulthood. Discusses insidious and enduring effects of alcoholism on lifestyle of adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs). Describes developmental legacy of alcoholism as legacy of…

The study examines the issue of ego identity among adolescent sons of alcoholic fathers. Forty-four adolescent sons of alcoholic fathers, age of 15-18, constituted the sample. They were drawn from public alcohol treatment center in Israel. The control group included 60 adolescents none of their parents is known as an alcoholic, sampled from…

Alcohol misuse is a significant occupational health issue in the United Kingdom Armed Forces. Dependence associated with alcohol misuse represents the severe end of the clinical and occupational consequences of sustained alcohol misuse. This article aims to explore the diagnosis, management and occupational considerations of alcohol dependence in the Naval Service environment. PMID:25335312

... beers have almost as much alcohol as regular beer—about 85% as much, or 4.2% versus 5.0% alcohol by volume, on average. Check the alcohol content of your beverage. Malt beverages are not required to list their alcohol ...